Look away, Patriots fans.
If anyone is loved and admired by the Pats Nation, it's Rob Gronkowski. The 42nd overall pick in the 2010 draft out of Arizona grew into an icon who helped define the culture in Foxborough during the decade he played for the New England Patriots.
Then, just as the wound was fresh in fans' minds when Tom Brady left in free agency for Tampa to play for the Buccaneers, it was announced Gronk would be joining him down there as well. Salt was indeed added to the wound when Patriots fans saw the two of them win a Super Bowl to cap off the 2020 season.
It was the equivalent of seeing your ex move on from the breakup faster than you did.
There is no doubt that the 2020 Tampa Bay Buccaneers were a problem, especially in the postseason that year, and Gronk would agree that skill-wise, it may have just been the best team he ever played for.
On an episode of the 4th and South Podcast, hosted by Leonard Fournette and former NFL wide receiver Jarvis Landry. Gronk spoke about working for both Bill Belichick and Bruce Arians, wild party stories, the apparent beef between the Patriots and Jaguars, and just how good that 2020 Bucs team was.
“The 2020 Bucs skill set-wise, I think that team is probably the best skill set team I’ve ever been on throughout my career,” Gronkowski said. “I mean, we had everyone, dude. We had Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, we had Antonio Brown, [Fournette], myself, Cam Brate, and then our other running back Ronald Jones.”
Although these are cold hard facts, because that roster really was stacked, it is hard to see a player you love talk about the other team he played for like that.
Let's not get things twisted though. Gronk played two great seasons in Tampa. He had a decade of memories in New England, and seems to be a Patriot at heart. In the middle of the regular season, it was announced that the now-retired tight end would sign a one-day contract with the Patriots and retire with the team, solidifying him as a Patriot for life.
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