Report: Rob Gronkowski Has Not Yet Made Decision On Football Future, In 'No Hurry' To Do So
By Michael Hurley, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- Last week, Patriots fans breathed a sigh of relief when NFL Network's Ian Rapoport said that all expectations are that Rob Gronkowski will indeed play football in New England next season. That alleviation dissipated after just a few hours, when Gronkowski tweeted "#Clueless," thus reopening the mystery surrounding the 28-year-old's playing future.
That picture remains murky after the weekend.
Peter King of The MMQB noted in his Monday column that "as of now New England tight end Rob Gronkowski hasn't made a decision about continuing his football career." King added this: "he is no hurry to make one."
With the Patriots in full-on draft prep/free agency mode, the team would probably prefer him to be in some sort of a hurry to make a decision.
That wasn't the only development -- as it were -- on Gronkowski from the weekend, as agent Drew Rosenhaus spoke to Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio. (Florio was the first media member to publicly speculate on Gronkowski's potential retirement, which he did via speculative tweet on the day of Super Bowl LII. Given his relationship with Rosenhaus, the services of Benjamin Franklin Gates aren't exactly required to figure out where he might have gotten such a premonition.)
Rosenhaus was noncommittal about basically everything involving Gronkowski.
"You know, I'm not sure. I got together with Rob after the season, he and I have a great, great relationship. And he said to me, 'Can I take some time?' And that's all we talked about, when it came to football," Rosenhaus said.
Florio asked if the Patriots were applying pressure for Gronkowski to make a decision before free agency begins on March 14.
"You know, Mike, I wouldn't divulge that, just out of respect for Coach Belichick," Rosenhaus said. "You know, one thing about me and I've learned about the Patriots is my business with them, I typically discuss with them. Before I came on the air with you, you're my friend, I said, 'Mike I gotta give you a heads up, I can't say much about Rob.'"
When asked straight-up if there's any timetable on Gronkowski's decision being made, Rosenhaus answered simply: "Not yet."
Those two words have come to define the offseason thus far for Gronkowski, as the Patriots -- and the football world at large -- awaits final word on the player's future.