Following the news that the Patriots have traded WR Brandin Cooks to the Rams (NFLTR), Adam Schefter reports that this move ensures that New England will not be trading Rob Gronkowski this offseason, despite the recent speculation he could be moved.
Schefter points out that the Patriots plan to rely on a receiving corps that consists of Julian Edelman and Chris Hogan among other along with Gronkowski.
Trade rumors involving Gronkowski began to pick up in recent weeks.
On Monday, Albert Breer reported that the Patriots are expected to receive some trade calls from teams regarding Gronkowski after speaking with a few teams last week who told him that they were already planning to make calls about the tight end’s availability.
Last weekend, Jeff Darlington reported that a source close to Gronkowski is “pretty certain” he’ll return to the Patriots for the 2018 season as long as Tom Brady remains with the team.
Gronkowski has been weighing retirement because of physical and mental fatigue, but Darlington says he’s now more likely to be back. According to Darlington, there is “lingering frustration” between Gronkowski and HC Bill Belichick along with some other members of the organization.
Gronkowski, 28, is a former second-round pick of the Patriots back in 2010. He is in the sixth year of his eight-year, $55.23 million contract that included $13.17 million guaranteed.
Gronkowski has outplayed this contract by a mile and was one of the most underpaid players in the NFL. He was set to make base salaries of $4.25 million (2017), $8 million (2018) and $9 million (2019) over the remainder of the contract when he agreed to a restructured contract this summer.
In 2017, Gronkowski appeared in 14 games and caught 69 passes for 1,084 yards receiving and eight touchdowns for the Patriots.
We’ll have more regarding Gronkowski as the news is available.
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