Patriots Rumors: Detroit Lions were trading only picks for Rob Gronkowski
By Nick Ziegler
Recent Patriots rumors are about the deal that nearly sent Rob Gronkowski to the Detroit Lions this offseason.
Shortly before the start of Week 3 for the New England Patriots, Patriots rumors emerged about them apparently being close to trading Rob Gronkowski in the offseason to the Detroit Lions. Even without Gronkowski, the Lions were able to defeat the Patriots in Week 3.
There was certainly a lot of drama and buzz surrounding Gronkowski and the Patriots this offseason. After not really committing to playing this season, the Patriots appeared like they were shopping him around.
Recently Adam Schefter talked about the potential deal between the Patriots and the Lions. Here’s what he said on WEEI with text via NESN.com.
"“It would have been a trade involving draft picks,” Schefter said Monday morning on WEEI’s “Kirk and Callahan.” “That was the base of the trade. He was the only player involved in that trade.” He added: “It would have been a combination of picks and so it didn’t work out for either side. In the end, the Patriots get to keep him.”"
The Patriots considering trading Gronkowski is certainly somewhat shocking, as he is still the best tight end in the NFL. However, the Patriots have traded key players before, and they will likely do it again.
What is really surprising is that they wouldn’t be getting a player back in return for Gronkowski. While draft picks are certainly valuable, trading the best weapon on the team without getting a player in return would not have been good for the offense.
As we have seen so far this season, the Patriots are lacking offensive weapons a bit. If you took away Gronkowski, this offense would likely not look very good at all. Gronkowski did threaten to retire if the Patriots traded him, as that stopped the trade talks.
Next. 3 Takeaways from loss to Lions. dark
With Gronkowski still on the Patriots, they will once again be able to compete in the AFC this season. Even though the season hasn’t started the way the team likely would have liked, the Patriots still have plenty of time to improve and get to where they want to be by the end of the season.