Bruce Arians Had Blunt Response To Question About Rob Gronkowski
TAMPA, FLORIDA - AUGUST 13: Rob Gronkowski #87 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers works out during training camp at AdventHealth Training Center on August 13, 2020 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
Rob Gronkowski was brought in to be yet another weapon in a stacked Tampa Bay Buccaneers arsenal. But his lack of production through the first two games has led some to ask head coach Bruce Arians about it.
On Monday, Arians dismissed the concern about Gronkowski to ESPN's Jenna Laine. He joked that targets are reserved for receivers and that he doesn't want to see Tom Brady brady "throwing it 50 times to the tight ends."
“We're not throwing it 50 times to the tight ends," Arians said. "That's what we have receivers for."
To date, Brady has only targeted Gronkowski four times on 96 offensive snaps. The five-time Pro Bowler has two catches for 11 yards so far.
While most teams probably don't want to to throw the ball to the tight end with frequency, the Buccaneers seem like a team designed to open up plays for the tight ends.
Rob Gronkowski is one of the best tight ends of all-time, and while Arians may know something that we don't, a healthy Gronk can do tremendous damage in the NFL.
Meanwhile, fellow Bucs tight end OJ Howard is having no problems in the passing game so far. He has been targeted nine times - second on the team - and hauled in five catches for 47 yards and a touchdown.
There's any number of reasons that Gronk isn't getting touches right now. But the idea that he isn't being targeted because he's a tight end is one of the sillier ones.
