Bucs Rookie Privileged To Wear Rob Gronkowski's Former Number With Franchise

Tampa Bay didn't issue out No. 87 last year while waiting on a decision from veteran tight end Rob Gronkowski. Ultimately, Gronkowski chose to stay on the sidelines while Tom Brady and the Buccaneers bowed out to the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC's Wild Card Round.

With the future Hall of Fame tight end retired for good alongside his friend Tom Brady, the franchise is moving on. The Buccaneers have added three players to the tight end room over the last two drafts.

That includes fifth-round pick Payne Durham, who was selected by Tampa Bay at the end of April. When the Buccaneers took the field for Rookie Mini-Camp last week, he was donning a familiar number - No. 87.

Formerly worn by Gronkowski, Payne is honored to take over the digits and follow in his footsteps. Funnily enough, Payne joins the franchise after wearing No. 87 in high school and at Purdue because he was a fan of Gronk.

"Yeah absolutely, they gave me a small list of numbers to pick, and it was kind of no-brainer for me. When I wore my high school number, I picked 87 because of 'Gronk,' (Rob Gronkowski) college number it was still 87, here it's still 87, [and] if someone else drafted me I would've asked for 87," Durham said on Friday at Mini-Camp. "It's an honor, the greatest tight end of all time, I'm wearing his jersey from two years ago so definitely and honor, definitely a privilege and I'm looking forward to trying to fill those shoes slowly."

Durham spent four years at Purdue where his contributions continued to grow each year. He caught a career-high 56 passes for 560 yards and eight touchdowns in 2022 while being named Second-Team All-Big Ten. Durham has a chance to be a threat in the red zone and is a player who can come down with contested catches.

"I know what I am; I'm not going to pretend to be something I'm not," Durham said. "So, that's been my whole career, so I have to find ways to create short-space separation. Like I said, get my hands free, make those contested catches, it's just something I've got to do. If you put me in a phone booth, I've got to be able to get open so that's something I've always prided myself in being able to do. Yeah, maybe the 40 wasn't the best but if you put me in a 10-yard box I'm going to get open. So, that's what I set out to do."

As of now, the Buccaneers have six tight ends under contract, including Cade Otton and Ko Kieft. It wouldn't be a shock to see the franchise pursue an experienced veteran to round out the room after Tampa Bay cut Cameron Brate and chose not to retain Kyle Rudolph.

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