Rob Gronkowski guarantees a return to Buccaneers, but under one condition

It appears as though Gronk wants to get the old gang back together.

Collin Haalboom | May 1, 2022

Rob Gronkowski continues to tease his return to Tampa Bay.

His latest comments took place during his own NFL Draft party in Las Vegas (appropriately titled Gronk Beach) over the weekend. It was there that the future Hall of Fame tight end went as far as to guarantee that he would be back in Tampa, but only under a very specific circumstance.

That circumstance? If former New England Patriot teammate, Julian Edelman, were to sign with the Bucs.

In Gronk's defense, he didn't go out of his way to bring the topic up. The scenario was presented to him as a question, delivered by a Sports Illustrated reporter. A video of the exchange was tweeted out by @SINow about an hour ago.

"If Julian [Edelman] signs with the Bucs right now, I'm coming back for a whole other year." — @RobGronkowski pic.twitter.com/LImZJ9zK79
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) May 1, 2022

After drafting two tight ends over the weekend, and signing another as an undrafted free agent, Bucs' GM, Jason Licht has done everything in his power to reinforce what would otherwise have been an extremely thin position for the Buccaneers—especially if Gronkowski were to opt-out of returning this season.

There are two ways that Bucs fans could interpret this latest commentary from Gronk:

1. You could view it as another indication that he is truly thriving in his non-football life. One where it appears as though he is continuing to embrace the fun-filled adventures and "Gronk-isms" that makes him such a unique character, to begin with. One where he is clearly comfortable in a position without any sort of obligation to an NFL team. So much so, that it may lead to Gronk towards a decision to retire as opposed to returning to life as a football player.

2. You could view it through the lens that his jovial, care-free remarks related to a potential return to the Bucs are indications that it is more or less an inevitability that he will be back, and more a matter of when. Maybe he's just having some fun before making his return to Tampa official?

I'm sure that regardless of how Bucs fans truly interpret these types of comments, they are hopeful for the latter.

We'll continue to monitor Rob Gronkowski's offseason status, as it continues to unfold in a very "Gronk" sort of way.

Follow Collin Haalboom on Twitter and YouTube.

Published May 1, 2022

COLLIN HAALBOOM

Prior to joining BucsGameday and Sports Illustrated, Collin's written content was provided through Bucs Banter, and NFL Draft Lounge. He is also the creator and host of the Bucs Banter Podcast. He is a graduate of the Communication Studies program at McMaster University, where he was also a varsity basketball player, and later an advanced scout. He lives with his wife and two children in Hamilton, ON. You can follow Collin on YouTube and Twitter.