Patriots Rumors: Team explored possibility of trading Rob Gronkowski
By Nick Ziegler
Recent Patriots rumors are that the team did indeed explore the possibility of trading Rob Gronkowski just prior to the NFL Draft.
Despite not a lot going on in football right now, there have been plenty of Patriots rumors about Rob Gronkowski. A few days ago, it was reported that the Patriots were close to trading Rob Gronkowski and it caused a big stir between Bill Belichick, Tom Brady, and Robert Kraft once again.
While that report was quickly shot down by the Patriots, as it was also mentioned that Brady threatened to retire if Gronkowski was traded. Recently, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reported that the Patriots did indeed explore the possibility of trading Gronkowski prior to the NFL Draft. Here’s what he had to say about a possible Gronkowski trade.
"Per a league source, the Patriots were calling other teams about a possible Gronkowski trade as recently as three days before the draft. Coincidentally (or not), Gronkowski ended nearly three months of uncertainty regarding his future by declaring publicly that he would play in 2018 only two days before the draft.It’s not known what the Patriots wanted, or whether a deal was actually close. If it was, it never got to the point where Brady made a power play and Kraft made a boss move, literally."
The timeline given in Florio’s report does make sense, as the Patriots could have explored the possibility of trading Gronkowski since he didn’t commit to playing next season. However, with Gronkowski committing to the season just prior to the draft, that might have been what ended potential trade talks.
It is worth noting that in Florio’s report, a potential deal for Gronkowski was nowhere near as close as it was in Adam Kurkjian’s. In his report, he had the San Francisco 49ers and Tennessee Titans as the potential suitors. Also, the Brady power move threatening to retire seemed far-fetched and was shot down in Florio’s report.
From multiple sources, here's what I have re: the Gronk rumors. Told Belichick wanted to trade him. Offers on the table w both the Titans and 49ers. He and Robert Kraft had a closed-door meeting to discuss. Tom Brady threatened to retire if the deal went through. Kraft nixed it.
— Adam Kurkjian (@AdamKurkjian) June 8, 2018
If the Patriots were exploring the idea of trading Gronkowski, it would have been interesting to see what they were seeking in return. There were reports about their interest in Baker Mayfield at the top of the draft, but that would have taken a lot of assets to move up that high.
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As of now there doesn’t appear to be any interest in trading Gronkowski since he committed to playing this season. However, it does appear that they explored the possibility of doing so prior to the NFL Draft.