Is Rob Gronkowski unretiring again? Ex-Patriots TE makes feelings known on returning to NFL 

Former New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers superstar Rob Gronkowski has been out of the league since the end of the 2021 NFL season. The tight end initially retired in 2018 after helping the Patriots hoist the Lombardi Trophy for the third time in five seasons. However, he returned in 2020, followed Tom Brady to the Buccaneers, and won the Super Bowl for the fourth time in his career.

Gronkowski spent another season in Tampa before retiring for the second time. Since then, he has worked as an analyst on Fox Sports, started a podcast with his former teammate Julian Edelman, and appeared on TV shows and commercials. However, his itch to play football hasn't gone away.

On the Dudes on Dudes podcast on Saturday, the 35-year-old revealed that he has been pondering about returning to the NFL:

"I was talking to my brother, actually, yesterday, and I told him, 'Hey, I might as well go back to football, because I'm grinding harder than I ever grinded before, and I'm not even playing football.' So like, I might as well go back, because playing ball would be easier than what I've been doing over the last six months.

"But I appreciate, you know, all the people in my life. I appreciate all my jobs. I'm definitely thankful for every job that I had throughout the season." [From 0:00]

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Rob Gronkowski to the Bengals? QB Joe Burrow tried the TE

When Rob Gronkowski left the league for the second time in 2022, several teams reached out to the tight end and asked whether he intended to continue playing. Cincinnati Bengals superstar Joe Burrow was among the people who reached out but it was prompted by the tight end's admission about the quarterback.

In a December episode of the "Dudes on Dudes" podcast, the four-time Super Bowl champion said:

"After I retired [in 2022], everyone was still trying to get me to play. When I had to do some media rounds, they were like, 'Yo, who is the quarterback you would love to play with?' And I was like, 'Joe Burrow, because he reminds me of [Tom] Brady and I just love the way that he presents himself in the pocket.'

"And that went everywhere... "And then I get a text message, 'Yo Gronk, what's up man, I saw you talking me about me in the media, it's Joe Burrow. I'd love for you if you would come to the Cincinnati Bengals.'"

Gronkowski did not believe that Burrow had made the effort to get his phone number and thought the text was a prank. However, he later learned that the Bengals superstar had indeed contacted him.

Ultimately, nothing came of it. But if the tight end does unretire for a second time, playing in Cincinnati with Burrow will likely be at the top of his wishlist.