TAMPA, Fla. _ The offseason of the Bucs shocking the football world continues.
Tight end Rob Gronkowski reportedly will come out of retirement to reunite with Tom Brady in Tampa Bay.
According to an ESPN report, the Bucs have agreed to terms on a deal to acquire Gronkowski's rights and a seventh-round pick in exchange for one of their fourth-round picks in this week's NFL draft. The trade is pending a physical.
Gronkowski, who was one of Brady's favorite targets in New England, retired 13 months ago. And since then he has wavered between being happy with not playing and entertaining a comeback.
Brady threw more of his 541 career touchdown passes to Gronkowski (78) than any other receiver. They had outstanding chemistry during their nine seasons playing together with the Patriots. In fact, when the Patriots nearly traded Gronkowski to Detroit before the 2018 season, he considered retiring then because he didn't want to play with any other quarterback than Brady.
"Brady's my quarterback, that's all," he said then. "Wasn't going anywhere without Brady."
Since the Bucs signed Brady to a two-year, $50 million deal, the Gronk-to-Bucs rumors have been swirling. On the latest episode of Bravo's "Watch What Happens Live," host Andy Cohen asked Gronkowski if he could play with Brady _ who signed a two year deal with the Bucs last month _ again.
"I'm feeling good right now, I'm happy where I'm at, and you just never know, man," Gronkowski said. "You just never know. You never know. I'm not totally done. I like to stay in shape. But I've got to get that feeling back."
The Bucs already have a strong pass-catching tight end duo with O.J. Howard and Cameron Brate, but there have been reports that the team has been shopping Howard in the days leading up to this week's draft. Trading Howard would seemingly make space for Gronkowski.
