Patriots tight end and superstar Rob Gronkowski walked away
from the game of football Sunday afternoon, after playing 9 seasons as one of
the league’s premier players. Gronk finished his NFL career with nearly 8,000
receiving yards, 521 receptions, and 79 touchdowns, all while winning 3 super
bowls. For all the games he has missed due to injury along with the rather
short span of his career, these numbers are staggering.
Gronk was drafted 42nd overall in the 2010 NFL draft, after
playing his college football at Arizona State. He is potentially one of the
biggest steals in the history of the NFL draft, after TB12 of course.
Predicting such dominance is nearly impossible, so we must give kudos to Bill
Belichick.
Although Gronk is mainly seen as a massive wide receiver to
most, we cannot forget his true identity. Gronk is a hog at heart, and his
presence on the offensive line was just as dominating as his pass catching
abilities. He was bigger, faster, and stronger than just about everyone.
As I sit here writing what feels like is an obituary to a
loved one, I can only hope that Gronk decides one day that he still has
something left in him. With Tom Brady’s career on the tail end it is not crazy
to think Gronkowski could come back. Whether it be for one more year, or one
more game.
Regardless, Gronk has done more for New England than most.
He has left a very respected career behind him and will most likely move onto
even better things in the future. As the great Babe Ruth once stated, “Heroes
get remembered, legends never die.”