Rob Gronkowski to officially retire from NFL with ceremonial one-day Patriots contract signing

Rob Gronkowski is officially retiring from the NFL, and helium is signing a one-day declaration to guarantee helium becomes a "Patriot for life."

Gronkowski said connected "FOX NFL Sunday" that helium volition ink a one-day declaration with the New England Patriots this week to discontinue arsenic a subordinate of the storied franchise with which helium won 3 of his 4 Super Bowl rings.

The announcement came arsenic the Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the past squad Gronkowski played for alongside Tom Brady and with whom helium won Super Bowl LV successful 2021, were acceptable to look disconnected against each other. Brady was connected the telephone for that contention alongside Kevin Burkhardt.

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New England Patriots choky extremity Rob Gronkowski  hauls successful a walk defended by Baltimore Ravens antiaircraft backmost Rashaan Melvin successful the 1st quarter. New England Patriots instrumentality connected the Baltimore Ravens successful the NFL AFC Divisional Round of the playoffs astatine Gillette Stadium successful Foxboro. (Nancy Lane/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images)

The Patriots announced Monday that Gronkowski would motion the one-day declaration Wednesday afternoon, up of the team’s "Thursday Night Football" matchup against the New York Jets, their AFC East rival.

Gronkowski, 36, began his NFL vocation successful 2010, erstwhile the Patriots drafted him 42nd wide successful the 2nd circular retired of Arizona. He spent 9 seasons successful New England, becoming 1 of the champion choky ends to play the crippled arsenic helium and Brady developed a transportation that was a large portion of winning those Super Bowls nether caput manager Bill Belichick.

He had initially said helium was hanging up his cleats pursuing the 2018 season, but erstwhile Brady moved connected from the Patriots to articulation the Buccaneers, Gronkowski couldn’t defy different accidental to play with his favourite backmost successful the Sunshine State.

Rob Gronkowski and Tom Brady observe aft winning the Super Bowl. (Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

With a loaded Buccaneers squad, Brady and Gronkowski went connected to triumph their last Super Bowl together, wherever the choky extremity scored doubly astatine Raymond James Stadium to unafraid the Vince Lombardi Trophy implicit the Kansas City Chiefs. It was a 31-9 blowout.

Gronkowski retired aft the 2022 season, and Brady followed suit successful 2023 aft a first-round exit against the Dallas Cowboys successful the playoffs.

As Gronkowski and Brady stay colleagues connected the Fox Sports team, they’re watching the Patriots get backmost to their aged winning ways, similar erstwhile they were there. A chap Patriot, caput manager Mike Vrabel, is starring the mode successful his archetypal play successful the role.

There is besides a caller sheriff successful town, astatine slightest astatine the backmost position. Drake Maye, whom the franchise chose 3rd wide retired of UNC successful 2024, has been playing similar an MVP campaigner arsenic the squad is 8-2 done its archetypal 10 games. He’s 3rd successful the NFL successful yards (2,555) and tied for 3rd successful touchdown passes (19). Maye’s 113.9 backmost standing is besides sixth successful the league.

Rob Gronkowski connected the tract anterior to the crippled betwixt the California Golden Bears and the UNLV Rebels successful the LA Bowl astatine SoFi Stadium connected Dec. 18, 2024. (Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Imagn Images)

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The aboriginal is agleam for New England, but 1 of its legends ensured his NFL publication closed arsenic a subordinate of the storied franchise.

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