Rob Gronkowski once followed Tom Brady to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Like the quarterback, however, the tight end is now leaving his whereabouts open after the play-off exit.

Munich/Tampa Bay – The Tampa Bay Buccaneers might not only lose Tom Brady after this season, but also tight end Rob Gronkowski.

The day after the Bucs’ dramatic Divisional Round playoff exit to the Los Angeles Rams, Gronkowski left his whereabouts open at a press conference.

“I’m going to do what’s best for me in the world of football. That’s going to be a decision based on how I see things in a couple of weeks,” Gronkowski said. A day after such an emotional end to the season, the 32-year-old said he could not make a decision yet.

Gronk retention an option even without Brady

Even before that, “ESPN” reported about a possible career end of the 44-year-old Tom Brady. The Buccaneers have been talking about this for several days. Brady himself left his decision open immediately after the game: “I haven’t thought about it much yet. We’ll take it day by day now and see where we’re at.”

Although Gronkowski once vowed never to play with a quarterback other than Tom Brady, “Gronk’s” retention is conceivable even in the event of his longtime teammate’s departure: “I’m never going to completely rule anything out.” For him, the team in Tampa is one of the best and most special he has experienced in his career.

Gronkowski’s contract with the Buccaneers actually runs through the end of the 2025 season, and he would be a five-million-dollar drain on the franchise’s cap hit next season.

Gronkowski already resigned once

Gronkowski played with Brady for the New England Patriots from 2010 until the end of the 2018 season, before announcing in March 2019 that he would end his career at age 29 despite having a current contract. Around a year later, he declared his retirement, followed Brady to the Buccaneers and won the Super Bowl with them.

In the past regular season, Gronkowski was also one of the Bucs’ top performers with 802 receiving yards and six touchdowns. In the playoff loss to the Rams, he caught four passes for 85 yards.