Gronk to retire as a Patriot?

[mike_usagisan]

I don't know if there's anything to this, or if I even care about Gronk retiring as a Pat, but this is a really nice story about helping make a local playground by a medical center pretty awesome.

Rob Gronkowski teases ceremonial signing to retire as Patriot at grand opening of Gronk Playground in Boston

www.patriots.com

"When I was in the hospital recovering from my injuries back in my playing days, I used to look out that very window up there and see this playground right here," Gronkowski said, pointing up to the 22nd floor of Massachusetts General Hospital, just across the street.

"Every time I would think, man, that would be such a cool spot to turn into an awesome playground for kids. I always kept that in the back of my mind and now we're finally opening it."

It took a lot of hard work to get there, but it all started with a 9 p.m. phone call from Gronkowski to Susan Hurley, founder and president of CharityTeams and a longtime friend of the Patriots Foundation.

The idea had been bouncing around in the back of Gronkowski's mind since his series of arm surgeries in 2013. Early into his first retirement stint that followed the Patriots Super Bowl LIII victory against the Los Angeles Rams, he finally shared it with Hurley to get her feedback.

Together, they dreamed up a dynamic, universally accessible playground that inspired youth fitness and fun for children of all abilities. The jungle gym and slides would reflect some of Gronkowski's favorite aspects of Boston, like the iconic duck boats, the Zakim Bridge, the Charles River, the Boston Marathon, and of course, all the "Gronk Spikes" he celebrated for New England over the years.

And around the brown bars of the playground's spiked-football-shaped set of slides would be motivational quotes from Tom Brady, Julian Edelman, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, David Ortiz, David Pastrnak, Gabby Thomas, Aly Raisman, and 2014 Boston Marathon winner Meb Keflezighi -- representing how ingrained sports are in the fabric of the city.

"I wanted all four sports teams to be a part of the playground," Gronkowski said. "It's the city of champions, so I needed to connect all four sports here in Boston at the playground."

 

[mike_usagisan]

Here's the bit about signing a one-day contract to retire a Pat:

"He loves his fans," Hurley said. "He truly cares for others. This generous gift of $1.8 million to our community shows his deep connection to New England and proves that his heart will be forever in Foxborough. And I'm going to go out on a limb here. Can we just make it official and sign him for a day so he can retire as a Patriot?"

Hurley got a thumbs up from Kraft at the time. Gronkowski was all for it as well.

"I like that a lot, and the reason that we're really going to do that is because of Susan Hurley," Gronkowski said.

"She wants to see that happen. She's been dreaming about that happening for a while. RKK gave her a thumbs up so we're going to make it happen in the future."

 

[signbabybrady]

It kind of just came out not much of an announcement but it seems like something that is in the works.

Will be fun to have him back for a day.

 

[mike_usagisan]

It kind of just came out not much of an announcement but it seems like something that is in the works.

Will be fun to have him back for a day.

Yeah, I think it was just an off-the-cuff thing, but since both Kraft and Gronk seem okay with it, I bet you it will happen.

 

[pencilneckgeek]

Sign the beast!

 

[ctpatsfan77]

One thing worth noting: not that this is much of a problem, but IIRC, it would make it harder to get custom Patriots GRONKOWSKI/87 jerseys.

 

[n1997y]

**** that ****.

He already retired once as a Patriot.

If it meant that much to him he would not have unretired to sign elsewhere. When he did that he said the Pats were second in his affections behind that other team. Let him stand on that decision not backtrack again.

 

[DC Patriots]

**** that ****.

He already retired once as a Patriot.

If it meant that much to him he would not have unretired to sign elsewhere. When he did that he said the Pats were second in his affections behind that other team. Let him stand on that decision not backtrack again.

Man, it’s Gronk. How the hell can you be against a guy who won 3 rings with the Pats and just gave 2 million to build a playground in Boston doing a retirement thing

 

[lancerman]

Gronk has been out of the league for 3 years. Normally if you do this, you sign a 1 day contract right after your last contract expires or ends, not wait years later.

 

[mike_usagisan]

Gronk has been out of the league for 3 years. Normally if you do this, you sign a 1 day contract right after your last contract expires or ends, not wait years later.

It was suggested by a lady involved with charity. It was an off the cuff thing. But also, Bill is gone, Brady is back in the fold. I’d bet Kraft will do something to bring Gronk back, too.

 

[Vindicate]

**** that ****.

He already retired once as a Patriot.

If it meant that much to him he would not have unretired to sign elsewhere. When he did that he said the Pats were second in his affections behind that other team. Let him stand on that decision not backtrack again.

There's this thing called "growing up", and in this sequence there are multiple phases, one of which is "getting older" which includes developing a unique perspective on years past.

Often times, this reflection includes recognizing an extremely important and incredible time of your life, one that you may have left in a hurry for greener pastures, and fondly appreciating what you once couldn't wait to leave.

I'm guessing Gronk went through this extremely common phase and and came to this very welcomed perspective.

 

[TommyD4207]

There's this thing called "growing up", and in this sequence there are multiple phases, one of which is "getting older" which includes developing a unique perspective on years past.

Often times, this reflection includes recognizing an extremely important and incredible time of your life, one that you may have left in a hurry for greener pastures, and fondly appreciating what you once couldn't wait to leave.

I'm guessing Gronk went through this extremely common phase and and came to this very welcomed perspective.

I heard him on a podcast yesterday, he admitted he's still struggling with not going out and playing.

 

[Vindicate]

I heard him on a podcast yesterday, he admitted he's still struggling with not going out and playing.

He's also opened up about how he was being an ******* at times towards Bill at the end. While I don't blame anyone for being an ******* to Bill, it's nice to hear him own it.

 

[n1997y]

I heard him on a podcast yesterday, he admitted he's still struggling with not going out and playing.

We need another TE. Let him sign for real, play for the Pats, and retire after the season.

 

[Huckleberry1]

**** that ****.

He already retired once as a Patriot.

If it meant that much to him he would not have unretired to sign elsewhere. When he did that he said the Pats were second in his affections behind that other team. Let him stand on that decision not backtrack again.

Couldn’t disagree more. He gave heart and soul, as well as his body for this franchise and its fans. He should get a statue as well.

 

[bresna]

It was suggested by a lady involved with charity. It was an off the cuff thing. But also, Bill is gone, Brady is back in the fold. I’d bet Kraft will do something to bring Gronk back, too.

Brady literally cannot be "back in the fold" due to his minority ownership stake in the Raiders. Even in the preseason game, he had to stay far away from both teams when he did his sideline interview with Hoyer.

As for Gronk, the way he timed his first retirement to screw the Patriots was pretty crappy on his part. I had no problem with his retirement, but when he waited until every decent free agent TE signed with other teams before he announced he was done, he was going out of his way to hurt the Pats that year. He knew that his $10 Million contract limited what they could do that offseason and he even used that $10 Million contract to force the trade to the Bucs because he waited to "un-retire" until the Pats were at the cap. So he doubly screwed the Pats.

 

[n1997y]

Couldn’t disagree more. He gave heart and soul, as well as his body for this franchise and its fans. He should get a statue as well.

Yeah that account was cancelled by the way he handled his first “retirement” from the Patriots.

See below for a refresher.

**** that ****.

If he wants to retire a Patriot his career as a Patriot should not end with him screwing them over. Let him come back and play this season, tonearn the right to retire as a Patriot. He’s as good as any TE3 they’re likely to find.

As for Gronk, the way he timed his first retirement to screw the Patriots was pretty crappy on his part. I had no problem with his retirement, but when he waited until every decent free agent TE signed with other teams before he announced he was done, he was going out of his way to hurt the Pats that year. He knew that his $10 Million contract limited what they could do that offseason and he even used that $10 Million contract to force the trade to the Bucs because he waited to "un-retire" until the Pats were at the cap. So he doubly screwed the Pats.

 

[PP2]

As for Gronk, the way he timed his first retirement to screw the Patriots was pretty crappy on his part. I had no problem with his retirement, but when he waited until every decent free agent TE signed with other teams before he announced he was done, he was going out of his way to hurt the Pats that year. He knew that his $10 Million contract limited what they could do that offseason and he even used that $10 Million contract to force the trade to the Bucs because he waited to "un-retire" until the Pats were at the cap. So he doubly screwed the Pats.

There's a reason he "doubly-screwed" the Patriots.

There are always two sides to every story.

 

[Dec54]

Couldn’t disagree more. He gave heart and soul, as well as his body for this franchise and its fans. He should get a statue as well.

Sign him up.

 

[RobertWeathers]

Gronk is a HoF player and represented the uniform and himself well here. There were definitely some turbulence here but I think they stem from the cutthroat, shrewd business that is the NFL. BB was hard line. Gronk and Rosenhaus's tactics were hard line.

Enough time has passed and it's time the org and Gronk to acknowledge each other.