Patriots Trade Rob Gronkowski To Buccaneers For Fourth-Round Pick
BOSTON (CBS) -- Rob Gronkowski will be back to catching passes from Tom Brady in 2020. The soon-to-be unretired tight end has been traded by the Patriots to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the team confirmed Tuesday night.
According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, the Patriots will receive a fourth-round pick from Tampa Bay. New England is also reportedly sending a seventh-round selection to the Buccaneers as part of the deal.
Gronkowski reportedly let the Patriots know that he wanted to make a comeback, though he wanted to do so with Brady and the Buccaneers. The Patriots still owned his rights following his retirement last March, and were able to get something for nothing, essentially.
The Patriots are getting pick No. 139 in the trade, and will now have a pair of fourth-round selections in this week's draft.
Gronk will make $9 million in 2020 with the Bucs, the final year of a six-year, $54 million deal he had previously signed with the Patriots.
Gronkowski retired after a nine-year run with the Patriots, putting up some big numbers with Brady in the New England offense. The dominant tight end caught 521 passes for 7,861 yards and 79 touchdowns over 115 regular season games, adding another 81 receptions and 12 touchdowns in 16 postseason games. He won two Super Bowls while in New England.
New England had a Gronkowski trade worked out with the Detroit Lions ahead of the 2018 draft, but Gronkowski threatened to retire and the deal never went through.
"Brady is my quarterback. That's all," Gronkowski said of the deal-that-wasn't the following September. "I wasn't going anywhere without Brady."
Those words still ring true in 2020.
