Report: Patriots Expect Rob Gronkowski Back In 2018

Rob Gronkowski was pretty contemplative about his future after the New England Patriots' Super Bowl loss earlier this month. He didn't exactly shoot down thoughts that he may retire ahead of the 2018 season.

Directly after the game, Gronk was asked about his playing future. When asked if he would return for another year, he said that he would "weigh his future" in the weeks after the game.

His goofball image aside, Gronkowski has been famously smart about his money. He lives off of his endorsement money, and has everything he's earned from his NFL career in the bank, per reports. That means he could be in a position to retire early. Given his injury history, that could be in the cards.

It doesn't sound like Rob Gronkowski's retirement will come this off-season, however.

As most of the NFL world is gathered in Indianapolis for the NFL Draft Combine, Ian Rapoport gained some insight in how the Pats are feeling about Gronk. He reports that everyone expects the star tight end to be back.

"As far as I can tell, the Patriots have not been informed of anything official, and they may not be. Gronkowski has been pretty low key about things personally, and how he handles his career. I would expect that to continue. I also reached out to agent Drew Rosenhaus who has represented Gronkowski for the balance of his career. He has nothing to add about his status.

What I am told though, is he took several weeks off to let loose and put football in the back of his mind and really set himself free after football. He did ponder retirement. He did discuss moving to another venue—WWE for one, maybe Hollywood—but the belief now is that those things will come after his football career. The belief now is that Gronkowski will continue his football career with the Patriots.

[...]

Right now, I have not talked to one person who believes Rob Gronkowski will retire. The expectation is that he's back in a Patriots uniform in 2018."

Interestingly, that report was followed by a cryptic Gronk tweet. It is not clear if this was intended for Rapoport, a separate report that Gronk is tired of the Patriots' culture, or if it has nothing to do with any of this. The latter seems unlikely.

Until Gronkowski hits the field again, the chance that we've seen the last of him on the gridiron remains. Rapoport is pretty tapped in though, so it seems like he will likely be back this fall.