Patriots Owner Robert Kraft Told Rob Gronkowski He Wants Him Back For Playoffs

According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Media, Patriots owner Robert Kraft walked up to him to say goodbye to TE Rob Gronkowski, who was cleaning out his locker at Gillette Stadium and told him that he wants him to return for November, December, and a playoff run.

Rapoport says the Patriots would welcome Gronkowski back and are hopeful that it will happen.

If Gronkowski is going to come out of retirement and rejoin the Patriots, it will need to happen soon, as the deadline for him to be added to their active roster is Saturday, Nov. 30.

As of now, Gronkowski is on the reserve/retired list and unless he’s back the day before the team’s Week 13 game, he would no longer be eligible to play this year.

Gronkowski has yet to file his retirement papers, but this is generally considered more of a formality and is not required to remain retired.

One source in recent contact with Gronkowski tells Rapoport that he has shown no signs of coming out of retirement.

Gronkowski has left the door open to a possible return in public comments, but it remains to be seen whether we’ll see him suit up in 2019.

Gronkowski joined FOX Sports as an analyst last month, but this job wouldn’t prevent him from returning to the NFL at some point. 

Gronkowski, 30, is a former second-round pick of the Patriots back in 2010. He was in the sixth year of his eight-year, $55.23 million contract that included $13.17 million guaranteed.

For his career, Gronkowski has caught 521 passes for 7,861 yards receiving and 79 touchdowns for the Patriots over the course of nine seasons and 115 games. He has been a five-time Pro Bowler and a made four first-team All-Pros. He was also the Comeback Player of the Year in 2014.