The Tampa Bay Buccaneers won the NFL offseason with the signing of six-time Super Bowl champion signal caller and future First Ballot Hall of Famer Tom Brady. Their dreams of trying to capture a second Super Bowl in franchise history became even more possible with the acquisition of a major offensive threat that helped Brady win half of those Super Bowl titles.
Early last week, Brady’s old team, the New England Patriots, who he helped lead to six Vince Lombardi trophies agreed to trade Rob Gronkowski to the Bucs in a deal that reunites the formerly retired tight end with Brady, who he connected with for 7,861 receiving yards and 78 touchdown receptions, which is twice as many scoring receptions Brady threw to former teammate and future Hall of Famer Randy Moss; Julian Edelman, who he connected for 36 scores; Wes Welker, who had 34 career touchdown catches from Brady.
“I’m back,” Gronkowski, who coming back after just one year of retirement told FOX Sports in a text message last week adding, “I always said when I have that feeling and it feels right, I will be ready to take the field again. And I have that feeling. I’m ready.”
The agent of the three-time Super Bowl champion and five-time Pro Bowler Drew Rosenhaus said on ESPN’s “Sportscenter” this past Tuesday that Gronkowski has been “really invigorated” from a physical standpoint since he retired a little of a year ago.
“He tells me he feels fantastic, the best he’s ever felt,” Rosenhaus added. “His weight’s back up to 260. He passed his physical with flying colors today. He’s just really excited about playing football again and being in Florida is exciting for him.”
The Pats traded Gronkowski, who turns age 31 in May and has one-year at $9 million left on his contract getting a Fourth-Round draft pick (No. 139 overall) in this past weekend’s draft, while also sending a Seventh-Round pick (No. 241 overall) to the Bucs.
It was nine years ago that Gronkowski shocked the sports world when he suddenly announced he was retiring from the NFL at the end of the 2018 season at 29 years old and after helping the Patriots win Super Bowl LIII against the Los Angeles Rams (13-3) on Feb. 3, 2019.
“When you’re done, you’re done,” Gronkowski said to Cecilia Vega, Tom Llamas and Michael Strahan of ABC News’ “Good Morning America” back in 2018. “And I had that mindset. That’s why I walked away because I knew it was time, and I knew I was done.”
Gronkowski also told to “GMA” that his body could no longer deal with the wear and tear of the NFL anymore saying that he “knew” that he had to step away from the football to allow his both his body and mind to heal as well as to regain that calmness and joy for life that he would frequently displayed on the gridiron and off of it.
Gronkowski found that joy during his now one-year hiatus from football? He won the WWE 24/7 Championship back on May 20, 2019 and became an entrepreneur with a successful Cannabidiol (CBD) business, which he credits for relieving him from the pain he body sustained for nearly a decade of professional football.
The Buccaneers are not only getting one of the best pass catching receivers at the tight end position in the NFL, they are getting a player who has played well in big games and has a synergy with one of the best quarterbacks in NFL history, which will be a major help both on the field, on the sidelines and in the classroom for the talented players at the offensive skill positions already in toe like fellow tight ends O.J. Howard and Cameron Brate, who combined for 70 receptions for 770 yards and five touchdowns, and pro bowl receivers from this past season in Mike Evans (67 receptions, 1,157 yards, 8 TDs) and Chris Goodwin (86 receptions, 1,333 yards, 9 TDs).
“Rob Gronkowski is one of the best tight ends in NFL history and he plays the game with the type of passion and desire that sets him apart,” Buccaneers GM Jason Licht said in a statement last week. “Rob has played his entire career alongside Tom Brady, and their accomplishments speak for themselves. Together they have developed the type of chemistry on and off the field that is crucial to success.”
Brady and Gronkowski are so close that a league source told ESPN’s NFL Insider Adam Schefter that the Buccaneers were the only team that Gronkowski was willing to end his now short retirement from football for.
Rosenhaus also said on his appearance on “Sportscenter” last Tuesday that Brady got in contact with Gronkowski about joining him in Tampa Bay after leaving the Patriots as an unrestricted free agent back in March. Rosenhaus and his client had a conversation about this being a “situation” that sounded it would be “appealing.”
“Obviously, this was a deal that New England had to feel good about, Tampa had to feel good about. This wasn’t just about Rob. All the parties involved had to be in agreement,” Rosenhaus said.
One day after the deal, Brady had some fun with Gronkowski about his return to the gridiron in a video from his Twitter account @TomBrady where he blew into a conch shell calling the tight end who ran in and said, “A little tired, but Gronk reporting.”
Gronkowski, who announced his retirement on Mar. 24, 2019 after playing nine NFL seasons, all with the Pats where he not only as mentioned helped them win three Super Bowls and developed a reputation as one of the league’s most colorful personalities.
While on the surface, the Patriots ran a very tight ship led by head coach Bill Belichick and it seemed like it was all business all the time, which it was, Gronkowski’s agent did say that he enjoyed every single minute he was a part of the organization and had the utmost respect for everyone it from the front office, led by owner and CEO Robert Kraft coaching staff to the players he took the field with. While he wanted to come back to continue his career with them, he just wanted a change of scenery at this point of his NFL journey.
“He loves New England,” Rosenhaus said. “He loves the Patriots organization, coach [Bill] Belichick, the Krafts, his teammates that are still there. He had an amazing run in New England.”
“It was just time for him to continue his career with Tom Brady in Florida, with Tampa. It was something cool and exciting and challenging to him. He’s well-rested and looking forward to playing with Tom again.”
Perhaps the biggest question for Gronkowski is does he have it? Can he be that dynamic player who made catching passes in the middle of the field while providing a major target for Brady in the endzone for nearly a decade with the Patriots?
From how other pro football players and professional athletes did, it all depends on the mindset and shape of the person.
Former Buffalo Bills, Seattle Seahawks, and Oakland Raiders running back Marshawn Lynch, better known as “Beast Mode,” made two triumphant returns on the NFL after first retiring at the end of the 2015 season and then after the 2017 season.
Lynch, who amassed 10,413 yards rushing and 94 total career touchdowns and helped the Seahawks capture the Lombardi Trophy with a 43-8 win against the Denver Broncos on Feb. 2, 2014, retired the day after Super Bowl 50, announcing it on Twitter posting a picture of his football cleats hanging from a telephone wire.
In early April 2017, the five-time Pro Bowl selection agreed to terms to with the then Oakland Raiders to come back and play in the NFL, saying that the team’s then impending move to Las Vegas, NV was a big part of him wanting to come back and that he wanted to be an inspiration to the kids that were growing up in Oakland, CA that they can see one of their own play for the Raiders before they left for good.
The two-time leader in rushing touchdowns in 2013 and 2014 was officially traded to the Raiders from the Seahawks on Apr. 26, 2017 to the Raiders, where he signed a two-year, $9 million deal that could earn a max up to $16.5 million. He rushed for 891 yards and seven touchdowns in 2017. In 2018, Lynch played in just six games rushing for 376 and three touchdowns as a groin injury on Oct. 22, 2018 cut his season short.
Lynch retired again, but in Dec. 2019 came back for a second stint with the Seahawks for their postseason run. He had 12 rushes for 34 and a touchdown in the 26-21 loss versus AFC West division rival the San Francisco 49ers in Week 17 on NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” on Dec. 29, 2019.
In the team’s 17-9 win at the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Wild Card Round one week later, Lynch scored a five-yard touchdown in the opening half and rushed for two touchdowns in the Seahawks 28-23 loss in the NFC Divisional Round at the Green Bay Packers the following week. Lynch currently is free agent.
After spending one year as a color analyst in the “Monday Night Football” both for ESPN alongside play-by-play analyst Joe Tessitore during the 2018 season, future Hall of Fame tight end Jason Witten in Feb. 2019 came out of retirement and rejoined the Dallas Cowboys, who he starred for the previous 15 seasons on a one-year, $4.5 million deal. The 11-time Pro Bowl selection and four-time All-Pro selection finished that season with 63 receptions for 529 yards and four touchdown catches.
Witten in late March signed a one-year deal with the now Las Vegas Raiders.
One of the most important traits of some of the greatest to ever play professional sports is their competitive fire and determination to win and Hall of Famers Brett Favre and Michael Jordan had that in their souls and brought it out when the lights were at their brightest.
After playing 16 seasons with the Green Bay Packers, winning three straight league MVP awards, and leading the Packers to victory in Super Bowl XXXI in 1997 against the Patriots, Favre retired for the first time in 2008. He quickly changed his mind and was traded to the New York Jets. In his lone season as the Jets’ offensive signal caller, Favre amassed 3,472 yards passing and 22 touchdown passes, but also led the league with 22 interceptions as the team went 9-7 but did not make the playoffs.
Favre moved on from the Jets and did the unthinkable in signing with the Packers biggest rival in the Minnesota Vikings, where he had a remarkable season compiling 4,202 yards passing, 33 touchdowns and just seven interceptions in leading the Vikings to 12-4 mark and capturing the NFC North crown.
The Vikings took down the Cowboys in the Divisional Round 34-3 on Jan. 17, 2010 but lost in heartbreaking fashion 31-28 at the eventual champions of Super Bowl XLIV the New Orleans Saints one week later.
Favre would play one more season with the Vikings in 2010 where he amassed 2,509 yards and 11 passing touchdowns, but 19 interceptions. He officially retired from the NFL after filing his retirement papers with the league on Jan. 17, 2011.
Jordan is highly regarded as the greatest player to ever play on the hardwood of the NBA leading the Chicago Bulls to two sets of back-to-back-to-back titles in the 1990s.
After leading the Bulls to the first three-peat, Jordan retired to give minor league baseball a try. That did not last long and he made his return late in the 1994-95 season, but his return to the Bulls could not lift them back to playoff prominence as the Bulls lost in the Eastern Conference Semifinals to the Orlando Magic in six games.
Jordan came back in great shape the next season and helped to guide the Bulls to three straight Larr O’Brien trophies from 1996-98.
He retired again after the 1997-98 season before coming back three years later with the Washington Wizards from 2001-03. While he showed flashes of his greatness, he did not lift the Wizards to the top of the Eastern Conference as they went 37-45 both seasons. Jordan retired from the game for good at the end of the 2002-03 season.
After spending 13 seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers, leading them to five titles in nine appearances in the NBA Finals in the 1980s, the leagues other famed “MJ” Earvin “Magic” Johnson was forced to retire from the NBA after revealing he tested positive for a form of AIDS, HIV.
While he did return to the league one year later playing 32 games for the Lakers in the 1995-96 season, averaging 14.6 points, 6.9 assists and 5.7 rebounds, Johnson was voted by the fans as a starter in the 1992 NBA All-Star Game in Orlando, FL, where he registered 25 points, nine assists and five rebounds in capturing MVP of the unofficially mid-season classic. Johnson also was chosen as a member of the 1992 U.S.A. Olympic basketball squad, dubbed the “Dream Team.” The squad, that comprised perennial All-Stars and Hall of Famers in Jordan, Larry Bird, Charles Barkley, Karl Malone, John Stockton, Scottie Pippen, Patrick Ewing, Clyde Drexler, Chris Mullin, David Robinson and Christian Laettner won the gold medal with an 8-0 record, defeating opponent’s by an average of 43.8 points those eight contests.
After a stint in the Lakers’ front office, which included a recent two-year stint as their President of Basketball Operations following his last retirement after the 1995-96 season, Johnson has kept busy as a motivational speaker. He spent time as NBA studio commentator for Turner Sports and then for ESPN in the first decade of the 2000s. He built a successful conglomerate company “Magic Johnson Enterprises” and created the “Magic Johnson Foundation” as a way to first help combat HIV and later diversified the foundation to include other charitable goals.
When it comes to the history of the Summer Olympics, no two swimmers have won more gold medals and been more decorated in their careers than Michael Phelps and Dara Torres.
After winning in total 22 Olympic medals, starting at the 2004 Summer Games in Athens, Phelps retired. But he returned in the 2016 Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro winning six more medals, bringing his total to 28.
Phelps retired for good from swimming in August 2016 with a total of 23 gold, three silver and two bronze Olympic medals to his name.
If there is one that the Torres’ career shows if nothing else that when a woman puts her mind to something, she can do anything.
Torres after a seven-year hiatus after winning her first two gold medals in the 1984 and 1992 Olympics came back to win five medals at the 2000 Games in Sydney at 33-years-old.
Torres returned to competitive swimming after taking time off again to start a family at age 40 to win three silver medals at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.
She tried for one more moment of glory at the 2012 games in London but did not make the U.S. Olympic squad and hung up her swimsuit for good.
The unreal career of the now 53-year-old Torres, that spanned 24 years and five Summer Olympics, the World Aquatics Championships, Pan American Games and Pan Pacific Championships concluded with her winning eight gold, five silver and four bronze medals.
Today, the wife of reproductive endocrinologist David Hoffman and mother of one is a co-host of CBS Sports’ weekly show “We Need to Talk.”
In the history of professional hockey, no one pulled of the act of retiring and then making a comeback than Mario Lemieux.
After playing 13 seasons (1984-97) where he helped the Pittsburgh Penguins to win back-to-back Stanley Cup titles in 1991 and 1992, Pittsburgh Penguins’ centre Mario Lemieux retired at the age 31 due to a multitude of health issues, which included lymphoma.
The Hall of Famer and current chairman, and co-owner of the Penguins returned on Dec. 27, 2000 to the NHL against the Toronto Maple Leafs and played for six more seasons before hanging up his skates for good in 2006 after he was diagnosed with atrial fibrillation at age 40. The now 54-year-old finished his professional hockey career, which included his four years with the Laval Voisins of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and the NHL with the Penguins with 937 goals and 1,363 assists for a total of 2,285 points.
When he retired from Major League Baseball (MLB) the first time at age 41 in 2003, Roger “Rocket” Clemens, who had been in the majors since 1984 had nine All-Star appearances, two World Series rings with the New York Yankees and six Cy Young Awards to his name in his career with the Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays and Yankees.
There were still those in baseball front offices that were still calling him and Clemens answered the call from the Houston Astros in Jan. 2004 and added another Cy Young Award and two more All-Star selections to his career resume.
Clemens made one more comeback after a year off in 2007 for the Yankees and in a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates on June 9 of that year registered six strikeouts and allowed just three runs in six innings of work. Clemens finished the 2007 regular season with a 6-6 record and a 4.18 earned run average.
While Clemens did not formally announce his retirement, 2007 was the last year he pitched a game in the majors, compiling a career resume that includes 11 All-Star selections, the aforementioned seven Cy Young Awards and MVP honors of the American League (AL) in 1986.
Before a successful career as an entrepreneur and author, George Foreman made his name as one of the best boxers on Earth, first at the Olympics and then becoming a world heavyweight champion.
In the first stint of his career, Foreman won a gold medal at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, Mexico at age 19 and five years later after becoming a professional boxer knocked out Joe Frazier became the heavyweight champion of the world.
Following a handful of wins and a tough loss to Jimmy Young in 1977, Foreman suddenly retired at age 28. He returned to the ring a decade later and in 1994 shocked the world by knocking out Michael Moorer on Nov. 5 of that year in a match in Las Vegas, NV to become the oldest heavyweight champion of the world at age 45.
Foreman retired from officially from boxing two years later, finishing with a mark of 76-5, with 68 of those wins by knockout and has carried that determination into the business world, which he has great success in, especially with his now famous George Foreman Grill.
There have been a lot of comebacks in the history of professional sports. Marshawn Lynch, Dara Torres, George Foreman, Roger Clemens, Earvin “Magic” Johnson, Michael Jordan, Michael Phelps. Brett Favre and Jason Witten.
Aside from Witten and Lynch, the rest of the other athletes held the cards in terms of how successful they were in their comebacks.
For Rob Gronkowski, him being in shape and having the will and determination to be what he was in his first nine seasons in the NFL will play a big part in how successful this second act will be. But the other big part will be how much he gets the ball from Tom Brady.
The chemistry that they developed while with the Patriots brings a lot of excitement to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, especially with the kind of offense that head coach Bruce Arians can conjure up. The question is will it lead the Bucs back to the top of the NFL mountain in terms of winning a Super Bowl? That we will have to wait and see when the 2020 NFL season hopefully begins in the fall.
“This is a case or Rob Gronkowski wanting to play with his quarterback,” Schefter said of the situation on Tuesday. “It’s the latest piece of history that Tom Brady is chasing and now he gets to go chase it with his running mate Rob Gronkowski.”
“The Buccaneers are all in. And I think everybody across the league wants to see if the Tampa Bay Patriots can bring back to life the greatness that they had for years and years in New England.”
Information, statistics, and quotations are courtesy of 4/21/2020 www.espn.com story, “Patriots Trade Rob Gronkowski To Buccaneers For Fourth-Round Pick,” with contributions from Jeanna Laine and ESPN Patriots Reporter Mike Reiss; 4/22/2020 www.espn.com story, “Rob Gronkowski Joins Ranks of Notable Athletes To Come Out of Retirement,” by Kelly Cohen; 4/22/2020 7 a.m. edition of ABC News’ “Good Morning America,” with Robin Roberts, George Stephanopoulos, Michael Strahan, Amy Robach, Ginger Zee and Lara Spencer, with report from T.J. Holmes; https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rob_Gronkowski; https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Foreman; https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Clemens; https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mario_Lemieux; https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dara_Torres; https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_Johnson; https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Jordan; https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/BRett_Favre; https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jason_Witten; and https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marshawn_Lynch.
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