Report: ‘Win Or Lose’ Rob Gronkowski-Gronk Will Retire

Is Super Bowl LIII the last game Rob Gronkowski will play in?

Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio went on WEEI’s Mut and Callahan, and talked that the outcome of the Super Bowl will not affect the decision Rob Gronkowski made.

“I can tell you this, last year in Minneapolis as the Super Bowl was approaching, I kept hearing from people I trust that Gronkowski was going to retire if the Patriots won the game,” Florio said. “And I think that not winning the game caused him to take a step back. Remember after the game, he was asked about the rumor he may retire and he said, ‘I don’t know how you heard about that.’ There’s no that to hear about if it’s not something he was thinking about doing. Deep into April, it was just a few days before the draft that he committed to the Patriots in 2018.

“I think win or lose he’s done. I think he’s got family members who are hounding him to get out of that pit where he’s constantly facing more concussions, I think that’s the big concern.”

Gronk has been related to several retirement rumors, but he is still here. When asked about his career plans, Gronk did not quite provide a direct answer.

Rob Gronkowski avoids direct answers

“The season’s a grind. It’s up and down. I’m not going to lie and sit here and say every week is the best,” Gronk said. “Not at all. You go up, you go down. You can take some serious hits. To tell you the truth, just try and imagine getting hit all the time and trying to be where you want to be every day in life. It’s tough, it’s difficult. To take hits to the thigh, take hits to your head. Abusing your body isn’t what your brain wants. When your body is abused, it can bring down your mood. You’ve got to be able to deal with that, too, throughout the season. You gotta be able to deal with that in the games.