Report: Patriots Trading Rob Gronkowski to Buccaneers

Gronk will catch passes once again from Tom Brady.

On Tuesday afternoon it was reported that the New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers were in discussion to trade for formerly retired tight end Rob Gronkowski. The two teams will continue discussions moving forward, but there was no official word as to when - or if - the trade would happen.

However, minutes later ESPN's Adam Schefter said that, pending a physical, tight end Rob Gronkowski would be traded along with a 7th round pick to the Buccaneers in exchange for a fourth round pick. 

Trade, pending physical: Patriots are trading TE Rob Gronkowski and a seventh-round pick to the Buccaneers for a fourth-round pick, source tells ESPN.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 21, 2020

Gronkowski announced his retirement from the NFL last offseason, and has been rumored to be coming out of retirement ever since then. But this time, it was true. Rumors started circulating a couple weeks back that Gronkowski would be willing to come out of retirement to play for the Buccaneers, who now have Brady as their quarterback.

Gronkowski - who has yet to officially file his retirement paperwork with the NFL - has one year and $10 million remaining on his contract with New England. With less than two days remaining before the 2020 NFL Draft is underway, the two teams are likely looking to get something done before the draft begins because the trade may involve draft capital.

ESPN's Jeff Darlington pointed out that the chances of Gronkowski and Brady reuniting wherever the 42 year old landed was always felt as a "real" possibility behind-the-scenes. "Gronk was done with the Patriots… but he never wanted to be done catching TDs from Brady," Darlington wrote on Twitter.