New England Patriots - NESN.com
The New England Patriots‘ hectic week got even busier on Wednesday when former tight end Rob Gronkowski signed a one-day contract to retire as a member of the franchise. Considering all that Gronk accomplished during his time in New England, it was a fitting move to officially bookend his career.
Selected in the second round of the 2010 NFL Draft, Gronkowski quickly established himself as one of the most dominant tight ends in the history of the league. During his time with the Pats, Gronk was a four-time First-Team All-Pro who helped the team win its three most recent Super Bowls.
After briefly retiring for the 2019 campaign, Gronkowski returned to play two seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2020 and 2021. As a result, he didn’t officially finish his career with the Patriots, but that changed Wednesday, with the notorious pass catcher explaining why this meant so much to him.
“This means a lot to me,” Gronkowski said on Wednesday. “I’m a New England Patriot. I’m a Patriot for life. My career started here. It 100% needed to end here, there’s no doubt about that … It was an absolute no-brainer to come here and retire as a Patriot.”
The fun doesn’t stop here for Gronkowski either. After signing his contract, the team revealed that Gronk will be the “Keeper of the Light” for their upcoming Week 11 matchup with the New York Jets on Thursday Night Football.
On the field, the Pats have been cruising, as they have racked up seven straight wins to push their record to 8-2 on the season. They will look to make it eight straight against the Jets, with kickoff for this game scheduled for 8:15 p.m. ET.
