On Friday, rumors became rampant of a potential trade that would have sent Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski to the 49ers or the Titans or, really, anywhere but New England. On Tuesday, to the extent that the widely-debunked rumor needed another coat of debunking, the man who reportedly blocked the deal went on the record.
“When you’re team is good, people are looking for things,” team owner Robert Kraft said Tuesday at the annual Myra Kraft Community MVP. “I’ll just tell you it’s a bunch of hogwash that I vetoed some trade [involving Gronkowski]. That was never in the works. It’s just completely made up . . . and I think we have to be careful in society, people just can’t come out and say things. This bit about us trading Gronk to the 49ers or Tennessee, there’s no basis to it and it gets a life of its own. I just want to go on record to make sure you all understand there’s no truth to that.”
Few if any believed the bizarrely specific report that: (1) the trade offers were on the table from San Francisco and Nashville; (2) coach Bill Belichick wanted to proceed; (3) quarterback Tom Brady responded to the news by threatening to retire; and (4) Kraft stepped in and put the kibosh on the transaction. To the extent anyone did, they now shouldn’t.