Former Arizona Wildcat Rob Gronkowski warms up before a game as a New England patriot. “87 Rob Gronkowski” by pvsbond is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0

ESPN insider Jordan Schultz reported Tuesday afternoon that four-time Super Bowl champion and future NFL Hall of Famer Rob Gronkowski will not return to the Buccaneers for the 2022-23 season and call it a career.

Gronkowski played two seasons in Tucson at the University of Arizona before being selected 42nd overall in the 2010 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots. He finished his collegiate career with 75 catches for a total of 1,197 yards with 16 touchdowns. During his sophomore season and final one he played, Gronk was a third-team All-American and on the then Pac-10 first-team.

Gronk played the first nine years of his career with the New England Patriots alongside Tom Brady and Bill Belichick. Gronk and Brady won three Super Bowls during five trips to the championship game.

Gronk first retired for one year during the 2019 season but always kept the door open for a return in the near future. One month after Brady signed with the Buccaneers, Gronk decided to return to the field but this time in Tampa Bay, Florida.

In his retirement message to his fans in his Twitter post, he revealed that since college it was a dream to play football in sunny Florida.

He successfully played in South Florida for two seasons while winning one Super Bowl before calling it a career.

There already has been speculation from his agent that another return to the field is possible but if Gronk never plays another game, he is widely considered a first ballot Hall of Fame player without a doubt.

Gronk caught 621 passes for a total of 9,286 yards with 92 touchdowns. He ranks third all-time among tight ends for touchdowns, fifth in yards and 10th in receptions. Injuries were always a constant during his career which led him to only play 16 games during his last two seasons.

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