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Buccaneers TE Rob Gronkowski Gives His Thoughts On His Potential Retirement

The Buccaneers tight end recently spoke with TMZ Sports and was asked a hypothetical question.

Evan Winter

Photo credit: John A. Babiak/@Photog_JohnB

Buccaneers fans are already drowning in the speculative sea of Tom Brady's potential retirement. 

Now, they're about to get hit with another of speculative wave in the form of Rob Gronkowski and his thoughts on his potential retirement. 

Gronkowski recently spoke with TMZ Sports and was asked a hypothetical question that essentially came out to, 'If you had to decide today, would you retire from football?'. 

"There's a lot that can go into it," he said. "And literally, right now, if they're like, 'Rob, you've got to decide right now, right his second if you're playing next year', I would say no right now," he told the outlet. "It's two days after the season. I would be like, 'No I'm not playing.'.

"It's like way too soon. You've gotta give it some time and you gotta rest, I would say, and see how everything goes. You know, how everything plays out... I just wanna heal completely and see what my thoughts are from there, then."

Before any real concern goes into this, it's integral to remember this is hypothetical context. No one is making Gronk retire today, tomorrow, next week, or even in the next month. 

So, there's nothing to really worry about in a realistic sense. 

And there's more relief on the way: The interviewer did a good job of following up by asking the future Hall of Fame tight end if he always felt this way after the season or if he would've felt this way let's say, five years ago and Gronk offered a reassuring reply.

"Yea, probably," he said laughingly. 

If there's any real takeaway, it's Gronkowski's "how everything plays out" phrasing that stands out. That obviously refers to Brady's upcoming decision on whether or not he'll retire. Whatever Brady decides will have impact on Gronkowski's decision.

Gronkowski even backed that up himself. But he has to figure out whether or not he himself wants to play before Brady plays into the final outcome.

"It'll factor in the situation," he said. "He's gotta do what he's gotta do for himself and his family - no doubt about that. But then for myself, I gotta do what I gotta do, you know, what's best for myself and see where I'm at, how I'm feeling, all that type of stuff. So then, once I make that personal decision, we'll see what his decision is and everything; and then you take it from there.

"Every situation could basically be on the plate, for sure. But I gotta do what's best for myself, first, and then once I make that decision, I can go from there."

Whatever Gronkowski decides, it won't be now. While the lack of closure can be bothersome and may lead to a few grey hairs, at least know said closure will be offered up soon enough. 

Because Gronk even said so himself. And, to make things even better for Bucs fans, he has an optimistic view on how things might play out between now and then.

"I would say you really start thinking of what you're really going to do in about three, four, five weeks from now. But you never know, in three weeks it may be a yes!"

You can check out TMZ Sports' full interview, here.

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Evan Winter
EVAN WINTER