Rob Gronkowski Retires

Rob Gronkowski, arguably the greatest tight end of all time, has decided to hang up his cleats after nine illustrious years playing for the New England Patriots. He announced his decision at about 6:00 on Sunday, and sent a heartfelt thank you message.

Gronk was considering retirement after the Patriots were defeated last season in the Super Bowl. After winning this year, he remained coy about his decision, and his agent reported that an announcement would be made in the next couple of weeks. The move came as a shock for NFL fans around the world, as the Patriots were reported to have been tentatively preparing for Gronk coming back.

Gronk left a huge mark on the NFL. The playful tight end racked up 521 receptions, 7,861 receiving yards, and 79 touchdowns while being named to four first team all-pros and winning three Super Bowls. He leaves the game as possibly the most dominant and versatile tight end ever. During the early stages of his career, Gronk let his impact be known as a receiver, and amassed a record 38 touchdowns in his first three seasons. Later on, especially this year, Gronk changed the Patriots running attack and established himself as one of the premier blockers in the league.

The reason why Gronk could not keep going was because of injuries. In college, he had a back hernia, causing him to miss a year. In 2012, Gronk fractured his forearm, and then re-fractured it in January 2013. After re-injuring his back over the summer, Gronk returned in week 7 but tore his ACL and MCL six weeks later. In 2016, he injured his back yet again and also pulled his hamstring. After suffering all of these injuries, it makes sense as to why he retired, and hopefully he does not suffer any long term effects in his future.