New England Patriots deny Rob Gronkowski trade rumors

After rumors about trading Rob Gronkowski surfaced, the New England Patriots quickly denied that he was very close to being traded.

While the drama in New England appeared like it was in the rear view mirror, the New England Patriots recently once again found themselves denying a report. On Friday, it was reported that the Patriots had discussions about trading Rob Gronkowski this offseason.

Since Gronkowski does want to have a new deal done in order to get paid some more money, there has been a lot of discussion about when and if that will happen. According to Adam Kurkjian, Bill Belichick wanted to trade Gronkowski this offseason and had meetings about it with Robert Kraft.

However, when Tom Brady said he would retire if Gronkowski was traded, this ended those discussions.

This is certainly major news if true, however, the Patriots came out and quickly denied the report.

As a team that has a very good chance to be in the Super Bowl once again, trading Gronkowski would be a strange move. With Brandin Cooks and Danny Amendola both gone, and Julian Edelman suspended for the first four games of the season, Gronkowski will likely be carrying a heavy load on offense to start the season.

Since Tom Brady is over 40-years-old, the Patriots are clearly in a win-now mode. While the franchise has always done a good job looking ahead, trading Gronkowski would likely cripple the offense.

In addition to trading Gronkowski in the first place, it was also surprising to see that they were considering trading him to the Tennessee Titans, who play in the AFC, and faced the Patriots in the playoffs last year.

Next: Complete First Round Grades

As the offseason rolls on, we will have to see what comes of this report, as it is certainly major news if true. While the Patriots have traded stars in the past, moving Gronkowski would be a shocking move.