Rob Gronkowski says he would need a month of training to come out of retirement
INDIANAPOLIS, IN – NOVEMBER 16: Rob Gronkowski of the New England Patriots celebrates his touchdown against the Indianapolis Colts during the fourth quarter of the game at Lucas Oil Stadium. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
Retired tight end Rob Gronkowski seems perfectly content with retirement.
Almost six months removed from his decision to walk away from the Patriots and the National Football League as a whole, a slimmed-down Gronkowski has been everywhere on a post-retirement media circuit. Most recently, the 30-year-old Gronkowski announced a partnership with a CBD oil company he’s credited with helping his body recover from years of physical trauma from his playing days. Gronk seems, in a word, happy.
So for now, the door on an NFL return seems closed.
But if — and this is the biggest if possible — Gronkowski wanted to seriously entertain the idea of returning to football, just how long would it take him to get back in the shape necessary to be the No. 87 who was a nightmare for defenses?
A week? Three weeks? How about a month?
“If that,” Gronkowski, now checking in 245 pounds, told the NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport on a podcast dropped Tuesday. “I could easily go out there right now and go. Easily.”
But that doesn’t matter, really. Not until if and when Gronkowski gets that burning desire within to play football again.
“You always want to go with what you’re truly feeling, even if it doesn’t make sense to someone else,” Gronkowski admitted. “If it makes sense to you then it makes sense to do that. If I get the gut feeling, that’s what I would need. My soul would have to be on fire, and I wouldn’t just listen to it for one day. It would have to be a consistent basis, too.”
This is consistent with what Gronkowski said just last week, but given that Gronkowski’s last days in football had him crying in bed following a Super Bowl LIII victory, it’s hard to imagine that burning desire returning anytime soon.
