A day all Pats fans have been dreading has arrived. Star tight-end Rob Gronkowski announced his retirement from football late Sunday afternoon. Gronk took to Instagram to make his decision public.
The now 29-year old Gonk is coming off a down season in terms of production, by his standards, where he caught 47 passes for 682 yards and three touchdowns. Where he was particularly effective this year was as an in-line blocker, helping spring free the running backs to carve it up on the ground.
In his career, Gronk was nothing short of a force. The most dominant tight end of the generation, he finished his career with 521 receptions for 7,861 yards and 79(!) touchdowns receiving with 1 rushing(fun fact: Gronk retires averaging 0.69 touchdowns per game, as only Gronk could). While these may certainly be Hall of Fame worthy numbers, his case for Canton may be hindered by his retirement at a young age. The University of Arizona product went to 5 Pro Bowls and was a 4 time First Team All Pro tight-end.
Rumors had been swriling the past few year about the status of his future, but given the Patriots success the past year, many thought he would be back. His body had taken a toll over the course of his career, as he hadn’t played a full season since 2011.
None the less, when he was on the field, he quite simply couldn’t be stopped.
On behlaf of all Patriots fans I’d like to wish you well in retirement big fella. I’m sure we’ll be seeing you on the big screen soon.
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