ESPN's Darlington: Gronk "frustrated" with BB; likely to play for NE if Brady is there

[QuantumMechanic]

Call me skeptical, but I still don't fully believe all of this stuff. I get the contemplating retirement thing after a tough SB loss

He was contemplating it before the SB even started.

A couple of hours before the game, out of nowhere, Florio (who shares an agency with Gronk) tweeted "This is 99% a wild guess, but I won't be surprised if Gronk retires after the game."

Then after the game Gronk was asked if he was contemplating retirement and responded with "How did you know about that?"

 

[RayClay]

There are many kinds of sauces used in ESPN articles. To make a quote of sauce, you need to use at least one set of these ("..."). I don't see any.

 

[Kontradiction]

Maybe ... just maybe ...

Belichick thought Gronk would grow up at some point ... thus some friction.

Actually, him saying that he’ll play if Brady is here has me wondering if there is any truth to whether the team was thinking about cutting ties with the GOAT and keeping JAG. I’ll be the first to admit that this theory is very out there and, of course, can’t be substantiated. But it’s interesting to ponder nonetheless.

 

[Patstopia]

Must have been his body language that gave his frustration away. It certainly wasn't his words. Hey, lets make a mountain of this imaginary molehill and watch the ants climb on it!

 

[RayClay]

I doubt them when they say they have a team source, or a Patriots source, or a league source, or a source close to Gronk. "Sources say?" That means they know the same thing you do, but they are repackaging it and selling it to you.

Also, Gronk being pretty certain means he's got a scale and as Mr. Kraft puts more gold on it, he becomes more certain, real certain, then voila on to 2018.

 

[IllegalContact]

Poor guy. (I wipe tears away and blows nose in handkerchief - Honk)

Count your blessings folks. You could be living in the hell that is Gronks miserable life.

Honk for Gronk

Or he could go to LA , have fun playing football, and still get paid

This is not the only place

 

[Tunescribe]

As time goes on, Gronk seems increasingly like a privileged baby. Maybe he should try scraping by actually working for a living to get a little perspective.

 

[MassPats38]

You can use whatever time frame you want. Who do you think is more likely to win a Super Bowl the Patriots and the small window that remains in TB12s career or the 49ers and their potential long term with Jimmy G?

I still say 2-3 years of TB12 here offer a better chance than 10± of Jimmy would have given you.

That, and let's lament the poor personnel decision after a season in which JG is not a complete enigma and has some pretty capable defenses head-hunting and game planning for his skill set when his team may not be playing from the division basement.

If he proves he can survive a full season of that, only then will I even give the transaction a possibility of a thought of regret (given the 505 yards in the Super Bowl, I still doubt that will happen as anyone picturing JG doing that at this point or the immediate future should lay off the hallucinogens).

 

[TheRainMaker]

If I could of made the decision I would of made the unpopular one and traded TB to the Niners.
Now we are trying to find a future QB who may need to be ready as early as 2019.

If Brady wasn't the best QB of all time and wasn't playing at a high level he would've been traded like Bledsoe. What's hypocritical about Brady is that he had no problem taking Bledsoe's job but when a talented QB comes along, the rumor was Brady was a lot like Farve to Rogers.

I think Gronk is somewhat spoiled. There are plenty of guys ( thinking of Joe Thomas types) who have never even sniffed the playoffs, let alone being annual participants in the AFCCG who I am sure would love to be similarly 'frustrated'. You don't like the way Belichick runs his team? Guess what, it works* ( * ignoring the elephant in the room Butler/SB52) and that is why you have 2 rings and a shot at another one annually... There may be places that are a lot more fun places to be and they usually have tee times set up for the first week in January and high draft choices.....

I don't understand why people feel so sorry for Joe Thomas. If he really cared about winning he wouldn't have signed those extensions with the Browns. In fact, didn't he block a trade that would've sent him to the Broncos who ended up winning the Super Bowl that year? I don't feel bad for him at all.

As time goes on, Gronk seems increasingly like a privileged baby. Maybe he should try scraping by actually working for a living to get a little perspective.

I think that's a little unfair to say. While most normal job stinks, the money you make playing sports is worthless if your health sucks. In fact, I don't think Gronk's days are a walk in the park getting targeted at his knees every week. I've never seen a player since Shaq get so abused.

 

[Patsfanin Philly]

I was not singling out Joe Thomas individually but rather guys who toil for bad teams for years never going near the playoffs. Takeo Spikes, Kyle Williams ( until last year) and Thomas.... I used them as examples of guys who would likely would have loved to play for BB and be deep in the playoffs every year.......
Maybe I could have used a better example than Thomas who spent the draft on a boat rather than going to NY and yes he did turn down a trade to Denver.........

Maybe Chris Long as a guy who toiled on crummy teams before winning two rings.....

 

[TheRainMaker]

I was not singling out Joe Thomas individually but rather guys who toil for bad teams for years never going near the playoffs. Takeo Spikes, Kyle Williams ( until last year) and Thomas.... I used them as examples of guys who would likely would have loved to play for BB and be deep in the playoffs every year.......
Maybe I could have used a better example than Thomas who spent the draft on a boat rather than going to NY and yes he did turn down a trade to Denver.........

Maybe Chris Long as a guy who toiled on crummy teams before winning two rings.....

I understand where you're coming from but I think the biggest misconception of professional athletes is that they want to "win championships". This is all lip service for the media to improve their marketability around the league and help them accomplish their real goal: getting paid! I look at it this way, if the company you work for is #1 in the world for that year does it help you and your family out in any way? Unless it helped your wallet get any fatter you don't give a crap.

However, there are exceptions to this rule such as Tom Brady, Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan to name a few who are super star athletes who never have to worry about money and can concentrate on obsessing over winning.

 

[Triumph]

Or he could go to LA , have fun playing football, and still get paid

This is not the only place

Yup

They can sign him to a multi million dollar contract. When he winds up with mediocre numbers like virtually everyone else that has left NE that thought they were the reason for the teams success he will still be a Man Child.

The movie offers and celebrity gigs will dry up.

 

[SHOWTIME15]

Will Rob Gronkowski get traded? Chances of a deal are reportedly increasing

 

[MassPats38]

What's hypocritical about Brady is that he had no problem taking Bledsoe's job but when a talented QB comes along, the rumor was Brady was a lot like Farve to Rogers.

I'll bite. Brady has stated emphatically that was not the case, and JAG, as the "dumped on" one cast from the Patriots by Brady, thanked Brady for his big deal with the Niners. Other than this 'rumor' celebrating the collapse of Camelot and all the things failing in the Pats organization, is there anything from the actual individuals that supports this? Or is your rumor pure tinfoil hat stuff that goes with the rest of this speculation as to what happened in the JAG trade?

The difference between Brady-Bledsoe and Brady-JAG is Brady outplayed Bledsoe and earned the starting job, and Bledsoe had no interest in playing backup so was traded. JAG never outplayed Brady (his 1.5 regular season games when asked to play 4 as starter were pure electricity), but is good enough to start in the NFL and was in a contract year. Brady, by all reports, believes he outworks others and wins his role (if the man is a diva, he has rings, MVPs and a ridiculously low salary hit that would suggest otherwise). Favre didn't have nearly the work ethic, and there are plenty of reports he was a diva to Rodgers from actual players because he saw the future. You will likely find few "thank you" statements from Rodgers on the awesome mentoring.

 

[Hyped]

There are many kinds of sauces used in ESPN articles. To make a quote of sauce, you need to use at least one set of these ("..."). I don't see any.

That was another steaming piece of **** article....full of innuendos ...not one single source...."people close to Gronk"= the local DD barista...

 

[Tunescribe]

While most normal job stinks, the money you make playing sports is worthless if your health sucks. In fact, I don't think Gronk's days are a walk in the park getting targeted at his knees every week. I've never seen a player since Shaq get so abused.

Yes, my heart bleeds for the twentysomething multimillionaire superstar athlete who is built like a Greek god, is forging a budding career in show biz and has the entire world virtually at his fingertips. Poor fella is so "abused" and "debilitated" he can't even enjoy a freaking walk in the park!

 

[Brewskies]

It seems like there are many Pats players upset with BB way from what I read. It all could be BS. Usually where there is smoke there is fire.

I sincerely hope that is not the case.

Go Pats

 

[patfanken]

He was contemplating it before the SB even started.

A couple of hours before the game, out of nowhere, Florio (who shares an agency with Gronk) tweeted "This is 99% a wild guess, but I won't be surprised if Gronk retires after the game."

Then after the game Gronk was asked if he was contemplating retirement and responded with "How did you know about that?"

This is just being SOOOOOO overblown. Just another example of the click bait mentality over at BSPN.

Given Gronk's outside interests and opportunities, it's no wonder that the thought of life after football hasn't popped up lately. But here's what pisses me off. It's the narrative that Gronk is terribly frustrated with BB. My first thought of that is, WHAT THE F*CK does Rob Gronkowski has to be frustrated about.

On a team where everyone seems to be treated equally, no one has been treated "equally" differently than Gronk. He gets away with more stuff than anyone (with the possible exception of Brady) Just look at how the Pats handled his injury years, by allowing Gronk's posse to control what was said. Or how Gronk's off the field life gets more leeway than most (just Gronk being Gronk). Or to the point where the Team gave him millions more pay when they didn't have to.

Now Gronk himself has always played the role of good soldier. He's never said anything (that I can recall) that was anything but the "patriot way". That's why all this "frustration" crap is so suspicious, since NONE of it has come from Gronk, or even attributed to anyone specific from Gronk Inc.

If he wants more money, I understand his logic. But he signed his contract every time, including the deal that added all the money last season. But AGAIN, neither Gronk or his agent has publicly asked for more money.

If any of this is true then I'd be happy to trade his ass out of town, because mentally he'd be halfway there already. Any "frustration" he has with BB or the Pats smacks more of him being a spoiled brat than something Bill or the team has done. But I don't think it IS true. And the fact that he has spent the offseason working out at the team facility is more concrete proof that my position is right than any of the opposing narratives have to offer.

 

[catent]

That was another steaming piece of **** article....full of innuendos ...not one single source...."people close to Gronk"= the local DD barista...

"People close to Gronk" is most definitely a "single source", in fact it's likely to be multiple sources.

Feel free to keep whistling, though. As for myself, I'm well aware there's a graveyard nearby.

 

[catent]

Must have been his body language that gave his frustration away. It certainly wasn't his words. Hey, lets make a mountain of this imaginary molehill and watch the ants climb on it!

It was quite literally his own words that brought this to light. No one had any inkling Gronk was considering retirement until post-Super Bowl, when he verbally indicated he hadn't determined whether he was returning for the following season.