Barring a minor miracle, this will be Rob Gronkowski’s final season in New England. Whispers regarding his tenure with the Patriots coming to a close have turned into shouts in recent weeks as highly regarded members of the media are saying the Days of Gronk in Foxboro are nearing an end. Here are Rob Gronkowski NFL Trade Rumors 49ers Bills Raiders Lions with a look at what will transpire this coming offseason.
“I don’t think he’s going to be back here next year,” NBC Sports Boston’s Tom E. Curran told Dan Patrick this week. “I don’t think there’s any way he’ll be back here next year. Whether or not he continues playing someplace else remains to be seen. But he’s got an $11.7 million cap hit here this year and they’re not getting any return from him. They wanted to get out from under that before this year. He folded his arms and said, ‘I’m not going.’ Next year it’s $12 million. They’ll put him on a dolly and wheel him out of town if they have to.”
Gronkowski turned down a trade to Detroit this past off-season but now that he and his agent Drew Rosenhaus have had time to mull life after New England there is a strong chance he will be playing in the NFL next season. Here are some of the top destinations for, arguably, the greatest tight end of all-time.
The 49ers remain one of the top potentials locales for Gronkowski and not just because of his ties to former Patriots quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo. The 49ers will have a ton of cap space ahead of the 2019 NFL season and will be looking to “win-now” in Year 3 of the Kyle Shanahan era.
The Bills are also a top option as Gronkowski is from the Buffalo area. Buffalo will also have the requisite cap space available to take on Gronk’s sizeable contract.
Next are the Raiders, who will have nearly $90 million in cap space ready to trot out in free agency and the trade market. Here is what Sports Illustrated had to say about the Raiders future this week.
“They won’t have a lot of home grown stars to extend,” Conor Orr wrote. “That leaves room for a few outlandish financial maneuvers. Oakland needs something to pacify Derek Carr.”
Finally, the Lions could also be interested in taking a second swipe at Gronkowski. Head coach Matt Patricia must believe that Gronk has a few more years left in the tank if he was so aggressive out the gate to obtain the tight end this past summer. You can bet on where you think Gronkowski will wind up next season here.
