Rob Gronkowski Shoots Down Possible Return to NFL: 'It's a No'

Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

Despite his retirement from the NFL, many have continued to speculate if former Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski would return to the league.

Gronkowski appeared on WEEI's The Greg Hill Show on Tuesday and cleared up those rumors when a caller asked him to give a "yes" or "no" answer on whether he'll come out of retirement.

"I'll give an answer. Obviously, when I retired I retired for a reason because I needed to step away. So it would be a no, he said. "There it is. But I never say no because I said no and everyone was like 'yeah, he's kidding.' It's a no. In my mind, that's how it is. It's a no."

Gronkowski, who made his debut as an NFL analyst with Fox Sports over the weekend, added that he doesn't miss football.

"No. I'm very satisfied where I am at," he said. "I say it all the time, I would have never left the game if I was going to be itching every single day. I've said that before many times too. I had that thought, too, would I be missing it? I just knew that it needed to be done. I'm very satisfied where I am at."

On Monday, Tom Brady called into The Greg Hill Show and said he wouldn't try to recruit Gronkowski to come back to the Patriots.

Gronkowski retired in March after winning three Super Bowls and being named a four-time All-Pro in nine seasons with New England. He finished his career with the fourth-most touchdowns of any tight end, finding the end zone 79 times in 115 games.

In 16 playoff games, Gronkowski had 81 receptions and 12 touchdowns. He tallied six receptions for 87 yards in the Patriots' 13–3 win over the Rams in Super Bowl LIII, despite injuring his thigh.