Rob Gronkowski says he might follow Philip Rivers’ lead and come out of retirement — maybe. Like, “1 percent” maybe.
The future Hall of Fame tight end was asked by NFL Network if he might consider doing what the 44-year-old Rivers has done. The future Hall of Fame quarterback signed with the Indianapolis Colts’ practice squad Tuesday, but he could play this Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks. Rivers hasn’t played since Jan. 9, 2021.
Gronkowski said joining the practice squad wasn’t a bad idea.
“I would maybe go back if a team was like, ‘Hey, can you give us some great looks on the scout team?’” Gronk told NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero and Judy Battista. “We’re going to pay you a legitimate bonus, like a million bucks bonus, and all you gotta do is practice Wednesday, Thursday and Friday on the practice squad and show us some legitimate looks of the tight ends that we’re going against. Just go out there and practice and have fun and get our guys better.
“That actually might be a pretty cool case — you know, I might have to think about that. The chances of that happening are 1 percent, but I would have to just think about it and lay my options on the table.”
Gronkowski’s comments were pretty tongue-in-cheek, but with Gronk, you never know. After Tom Brady signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the 2020 season, he convinced his former New England Patriots teammate to come out of retirement and join him. The reconnection paid off, with Gronk catching two of Brady’s three touchdown passes in a 31-9 defeat of the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2021 Super Bowl.
Last month, Gronkowski signed a one-day contract so he could officially retire as a Patriot.
In his 11-year career — nine with the Patriots and two with the Buccaneers — Gronkowski won four Super Bowls and caught 92 TD passes in the regular season.
Like Gronkowski in 2020, many NFL stars have retired, only to soon after get back onto the field, some with success: Brady, Randy Moss, Brett Favre, Deion Sanders and Jason Witten.
On this week’s “Scoop City” podcast, Hall of Fame QB Kurt Warner told The Athletic’s Calen Bullock there was a time when he would have considered coming out of retirement had the Arizona Cardinals called him about it, but they never did.
