Howe On Toucher & Rich: Possible Gronkowski Contract Extension 'Very Surprising'
On Thursday news broke that the New England Patriots released wide receiver Chad Ochocinco. Fast forward to Friday morning and now there are rumbling that the Patriots are looking to rework Rob Gronkowski's contract.
The Boston Head's Jeff Howe spoke with 98.5 The Sports Hub's Toucher & Rich about the rumors surrounding Rob Gronkowski's contract, Wes Welker's contract situation and Patrick Chung.
Read: Gronkowski Extension Could Come Friday
Tight end Rob Gronkowski still has two year left on his rookie contract and there are rumors out there that the Patriots are looking to rework the deal to extend him. Isn't this un-Patriot like to rework a contract that is financially advantageous for the team to extend Gronk now?
"This is very surprising. I was actually working on a story completely separate from this earlier in the week and I spent about a week talking to people around the league and every single one of them was saying this just isn't how the Patriots do business."
Has Howe heard anything about money or an amount of years?
"At minimum it's a raise and that's a sign of good faith. It's a way to reward a guy who plays a very tough, demanding, physical position and does it the right way."
Wide receiver Wes Welker signed his guaranteed $9.515 million franchise tender back in May, but he and the team could still negotiate a different, longer-term deal. If your Welker how do you feel after hearing about the team wanting to work on Gronkowski's contact earlier than needed?
"That's definitely a fair question to ask, but I think in this business you kind of have to take the two and look at them completely independently. I mean Welker's already not happy about the fact that it hasn't got to the point where he's getting an extension or at least not even in the discussions for an extension in the ballpark he wants, but I don't think he's going to look at a guy like Gronkowski and say, why him and not me."
Plus safety Patrick Chung's contact is up at the end of this coming season, how might he see all this?
