Why Rob Gronkowski and the Bills Would fit Perfectly Together

Buffalo's offense already presents more than its share of mismatches. Gronkowski could make it impossible to stop.

With essentially only one tight end, Dawson Knox, in 2021, the Buffalo Bills' offensive juggernaut was basically unstoppable by the end of the season.

Now picture adding 6-foot-6, 265-pound tight end Rob Gronkowski into the mix with Knox, a running back and a wide receiver or in a spread alignment featuring an empty backfield in which the likes of Gronkowski, Knox and wide receivers Stefon Diggs and Gabriel Davis are ready to fire with one of the league's preeminent running threats at quarterback, Josh Allen, in the shotgun, ready to pull the trigger.

Or take off and run.

Rest assured, general manager Brandon Beane and the coaching staff have thought it about it too, along with hundreds of thousands of others.

Proof? The Bills suddenly are the projected betting favorites, according to Bookies.com, to land the Hall of Fame-bound Gronkowski, who grew up a Bills fan and is headed for unrestricted free agency again.

And why not?

A sensible, below-market, short-term deal, possibly for as little as one year, that provides some injury protection might make sense for a team that believes it can contend for a championship again but will need to be stronger in 2022.

The long-time New England Patriot who followed quarterback Tom Brady to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers by coming out of retirement for another Super Bowl ring in 2020, may want to hook up with another elite quarterback now that Brady has retired (at least for now). Though certainly no slam-dunk because of his age — Gronkowski will turn 33 in May — and extensive injury history, there is no disputing what kind of dimension a huge tight end who's averaged 15.0 yards per reception and caught 92 touchdown passes in 143 regular-season games can bring.

The Bills reportedly made a run at Gronk last year as well, losing out to the Bucs, who re-signed him to a second one-year deal.

To be clear, Gronkowksi would almost certainly need to take less than the highest bidder would offer. But if he's just in it for the rings at this point, the Bills might make the most sense.

Gronkowski may remain frustrated that he's not eligible, even as a paid spokesman, for USAA's low auto insurance rates because he's not a military member. But becoming a soldier of fortune for the Bills may provide some kind of satisfying consolation.

Gronkowski and @USAA have arguably made the worst commercial ever. pic.twitter.com/ep6q174yXx

— TodayInSports (@TodayInSportsCo) September 14, 2021

Just some food for thought.

Here are the projected odds from Bookie.com:

No Team/Retired -125

Buffalo Bills +550

Green Bay Packers +650

Tampa Bay Buccaneers +800

Arizona Cardinals +900

Chicago Bears +1200

L.A. Chargers +1500

Miami Dolphins +1800

San Francisco 49ers +2000

Field +400

Nick Fierro is the publisher of Bills Central. Check out the latest Bills news at www.si.com/nfl/bills and follow Fierro on Twitter at @NickFierro. Email to Nicky300@aol.com.