After nearly three months of mystery regarding his intentions, capped by recent public comments suggesting he’s not nearly as all in for football as he needs to be, Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski suddenly has renewed his football vows. So what prompted it?
Peter King of SI.com has a very intriguing theory. The Patriots needed to know what Gronkowski plans to do before the draft, since they may have to draft his replacement if they don’t know what he’s doing. That part was fairly obvious; here’s where Peter goes next level (and I think directly to the heart of the matter): If Gronkowski hadn’t given a commitment to playing in 2018, coach Bill Belichick quite possibly would have traded Gronk before or during the draft.
Gronkowski still could be traded, in theory. And now that he has declared a commitment to playing in 2018, maybe it will be easier to pull it off.
Of course, Gronkowski may change his mind about playing if he suddenly ends up in a new city. Then again, if another team is willing to give him a raise over the $8 million he’s due to make in 2018, maybe he’ll be even more inclined to play, in 2018 and beyond.
