Buccaneers don't expect a Rob Gronkowski return this year
BOSTON -- When Rob Gronkowski announced his retirement for the second time this spring, nobody really believed him. Not his longtime girlfriend, and not his most recent employer.
Now, though, with the season kicking off, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are apparently ready to accept that Gronk wasn't bluffing.
ESPN's Adam Schefter reported Sunday that "the Buccaneers are not counting on Gronkowski to return."
"The Buccaneers initially had hoped that later this season, if they were in the thick of the race for a playoff spot, Brady could help convince Gronkowski to return. But sources told ESPN that at least for the time being, until they hear differently, the Buccaneers believe that Gronkowski has moved on with his life," Schefter reported.
Gronkowski is a free agent, so a return would not necessarily have to be with the Buccaneers. Still, given the way Gronkowski's been tied at the hip to Tom Brady since the quarterback left New England for Tampa Bay, the Bucs would seemingly present the only opportunity that could coax Gronkowski out of Retirement, Part 2.
Alas, even though Schefter noted the door isn't 100 percent closed on a potential Gronkowski comeback, the Buccaneers don't expect it to happen.
Gronkowski, 33, caught 55 passes for 802 yards and six touchdowns last year in 12 games, before catching nine passes for 116 yards and a touchdown in two playoff games.