Wearing a white sweater and sitting next to a wall plastered with pictures in his New England home, a lean Rob Gronkowski admitted his hunger to make a football comeback started in earnest two months ago.
At the time, he was playing catch with a pal.
“We talked (about it) for one second,” Gronkowski said during the Zoom conference call with reporters on Wednesday. “It definitely got the fire under me.”
The friend, of course, was Tom Brady, then still property of the Patriots. And you know they talked about it for longer than a second.
“If the opportunity is right … if there’s a possible chance, I would definitely love to reconnect,” Gronkowski told Brady. “He was fired up and juiced up about it.”
The rest is Buccaneers history.
Brady signed in Tampa Bay last month and, on Tuesday, he was joined by his favourite tight end.
Of his request for the quickly consummated trade and his formal announcement that he was returning to the game after a one-year retirement, Gronkowski said: “Tom was like the appetizer for the whole meal.
“To build a connection with a quarterback is something special,” he expanded. “We have a great chemistry out there and every time we get together it’s like the old days at practice. It just happened to be the right opportunity. He got me hooked to the idea.”
Would he have un-retired had Brady decided to stay in New England? Gronkowski said he would have looked at the opportunity, but he was surely being diplomatic.
“Coach (Bill Belichick) says all the time, it’s not an easy place to play,” he said.
Because the Patriots, under Belichick, are all about football, all about winning, all the time. In Tampa, when the world is right again, there will be plenty of distractions: The beaches, the sun, the fun, the parties.
“I’m very thankful for the nine years (in New England,” Gronk said. “I earned so much from the best coach of all time. I’m not going to sit here and say its an easy organization to play for, but it gets you right. It gets you mentally right and physically right. I’ve learned to block out the noise. That’s one thing I’m going to bring with me.”
As of Wednesday morning, right out of bed while still in his boxers, Gronkowski said he was carrying 250 pounds on his 6-foot-6 frame. His playing weight is 262-265.
“To put on 10 pounds, I think will be pretty easy,” he said of his plan to have a couple of more protein shakes with extra almond butter and extra blueberries each day.
“Just got to load it on.”
And tackle the challenge of getting ready to take the field again while recognizing it will be more difficult after being away from game for a year.
“My body 100% needed a rest,” Gronkowski said. “I knew I loved the game of football. I always have, but I had no fire last year to come back.
“That passion has lit into me. I felt like in the last couple of weeks it was the right time to hop on, before it was too late.”
Gronkowski said he hasn’t been told how he’ll utilized by Bucs coach Bruce Arians, only he’s “down for anything.” He has also been told by friends in the game that he will love playing for Arians.
“That’s good to hear,” said Gronk, who is on a new mission in a new place, but will face it while playing catch with an old friend.
“I want to show I can do what I’ve been doing my whole career, especially when I was in my prime.”
FEEL THE DRAFT?
While only a rich man who wants to share his wealth would take the field against Joe Burrow in a bet on who the Cincinnati Bengals will take with the first pick of Thursday’s draft, odds makers have Oregon’s Justin Hebert as the more likely second quarterback picked ahead of Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa. Hall of Famer Kurt Warner says the player who intrigues him most is Oklahoma’s Jalen Hurts, who he compares to Russell Wilson. That’s not bad, right? … Where will the best 32nd pick of all-time (I’m assuming) be watching the draft? “(Alabama WR) Jerry Jeudy invited me to go to his draft party,” 2019 MVP Lamar Jackson told reporters in a conference call this week. “So I might show up there.” Jeudy, who should be long gone before the Ravens pick at 28, must be very close to Jackson. Or he’s planning to have a bigger draft party than the recommended 10-or-less … While Jeudy is expected to go in first round (as high as ninth in Dan Bilicki’s Postmedia mock draft) there was recent concern expressed about his left knee, which he injured in 2018. His doctor has sent letters to all 32 teams saying he can play “without limitations” from the two-year-old injury … The Dolphins know they have to “hit a home run” this week with a plethora of picks (fifth, 18th, 26th and three more of the top 70). Seems impossible for them to strike out.
ON SECOND THOUGHT
ESPN’s Dianna Russini was told by New Orleans Saints players that coach Sean Payton has informed them there will be no off-season program this spring. Payton’s message to his troops: “No virtual workouts, no online meetings, no workouts at the facility, even if it’s allowed. Show up in July for training camp in the best shape of your life.” About now, July sounds optimistic, doesn’t it? About now, wouldn’t you take it? … By rule, no team is required to participate in the “virtual period” from April 20-May 15, but if one does decide to conduct a classroom workout online, players receive the customary $235 per diem they’d get if they were there in person. That’s a lot of meal money for one day. Did you know that in New Orleans, $235 could buy you 58 Big Macs? … Closing in on his 32nd birthday, Percy Harvin wants to make a comeback. Hampered by injuries and migraines in his eight year career, the former first-round pick of the Vikings hasn’t played since two games with the Bills in 2016. “I’m ready to return to the NFL,” he told ESPN. “I thought I was done but that itch came back. I’ve been training with a former Olympian. My body is feeling good. Mentally I’m better. My family is good. The timing is right.”
