Would Gronk Have Considered Staying With Patriots if Brady Was There? 'For Sure'

We know in the wake of the Rob Gronkowski trade that Bill Belichick may be one of the underlying reasons as to why Gronkowski and Tom Brady are no longer playing for the New England Patriots. But would Gronkowski have considered a comeback after one year if Brady was still in a Patriots uniform? That's a question worth asking, as it could determine how New England would have looked in 2020 had the Patriots retained the 42-year-old QB this offseason.

Gronkowski was asked that very question during his introductory video conference with the Buccaneers on Wednesday, and gave an honest answer that may anger fans who hate to see those two players playing together in non-Patriots uniforms.

"I would have definitely looked at the opportunity, for sure. Hands down." Gronkowski said. "At the moment when (Brady) was going through the process (of finding a new football team) I was interested to see where he was gonna go. That's his decision to make, I'm not that guy that's gonna sit there and try to put pressure on him. But at that moment in time I was still up in the air too, I really didn't know if I was going to (un-retire) or not, really wasn't really sure if I was gonna play. I had a little bit of fire underneath me.

Gronkowski then went on to explain how special it is to have a chemistry with Brady, no matter the passage of time.

"But (playing for the Patriots) would have definitely been an opportunity I would have looked at for sure, because playing with Tom is special. He is one of the greatest quarterbacks of all-time. To build a connection with a quarterback too is something special. You've seen it many times with many other players, they can switch teams and they might not have the same chemistry they would have with one of their other quarterbacks. (Tom and I) have a great chemistry out there, and every time we get together it just like the old days. It doesn't matter if we take a month off or six months apart, we go out there and we're just throwing the ball like it's a normal practice no matter what."

In the end, it seems that Gronkowski took a one-year hiatus from football, not because of the way the ship was run in New England, but instead because he really needed to rest and recover from some of the injuries he dealt with later in his career (like the quad injury he suffered in Super Bowl LIII that Gronkowski mentioned during the video call he still has an indent on his leg from).

Nevertheless, Gronkowski's comments show what could have been if the Patriots - more specifically Bill Belichick - were able to retain Tom Brady. If they did, then Gronkowski may have taken the field for New England in 2020.