Report: Penn State’s ‘Baby Gronk’ Wants To Play For Patriots

Penn State tight end Pat Freiermuth has attracted a lot of attention, and he is even compared to retired tight end Rob Gronkowski. The 6-foot-5, 256-pound “Baby Gronk” wears No.87 for the Nittany Lions. The sophomore talked to Andrew Callahan from The Boston Herald, and downplayed the comparisons as hard as he could do.

Of course, Freiermuth likes being compared to Gronk, but he knows that he isn’t even close to being where Gronk was. Freiermuth is pretty humble about his skills and achievement, but his head coach, James Franklin, has words of praise for his player.

“It’s cool being compared to (Gronkowski), but in a way I’m not even close yet to being where he is,” Freiermuth told Callahan.

According to Franklin, Freiermuth is one of the best tight ends in the country. The head coach feels as if they have one of the best if not the best tight end in college football. He is pretty sure that Freiermuth will develop even further. Freiermuth is big, strong, lean, quick and really athletic. That’s what makes him an incredible player.

“We obviously feel like we’ve got one of the best, if not the best tight end in college football. And I think that will continue to grow,” Franklin said. “… He’s bigger. He’s stronger. He’s leaner. He’s more athletic. He’s quicker. He’s faster. All of those types of things.”

In eight games this season, Freiermuth had 25 catches for 291 yards and seven touchdowns. It’s more than obvious that he has his eyes on the NFL. It’s not just the NFL. He wants to play with the New England Patriots.

Baby Gronk wants to play with the Patriots

If Freiermuth gets to play in the league, he will be really grateful. What’s better than playing with the New England Patriots? That would be really great for the sophomore.

“If I get to play in the NFL or get the opportunity, I’ll be grateful. And definitely, there’d be nothing better than playing for the hometown Patriots,” Freiermuth said. “That’d be awesome.”

When it comes to the real Gronk, he is still retired. If he thinks of playing with the Patriots, he has to make a decision until Nov. 30. But, although Gronk worked out with David Ortiz, there’s a little chance of us to see him play this season. Gronk retired because he was in a lot of pain. He needs to recover before making the field again.

However, Patriots owner Robert Kraft and Gronk have discussed his reinstatement, and this add a lot of fuel to the fire. Tom Brady doesn’t say much about his teammate, and he is only focused on the regular season. Gronk hasn’t signed his retirement papers yet. Does this mean that he will return for the playoffs?