Rob Gronkowski is officially retired, and if you believe what he's telling us, that's not changing anytime soon.
But what if he were to get a call from his former quarterback?
Check out the beginning of this clip from Thursday's edition of NBC Sports' "PFT Live," which features Tom Brady discussing the New England Patriots' massive hole at tight end -- and Florio resurfacing some notable intel.
"(Brady's response is) significant to me," Florio says, "because I was told a week or two ago that one of the factors in whether or not Gronk comes back will be whether or not Tom Brady makes a personal appeal at some point to Gronk to return.
"If you look at the quality of the guys they have and you add in that quote -- 'You can't pick great tight ends off a tree ' -- well, you can pick up the phone and have a great tight end come back and play. I just wonder if Tom Brady is going to do that at some point."
Florio also reported two weeks ago that Gronkowski's chances of returning to the Patriots are about 40 percent, suggesting the 30-year-old may get the itch to start playing again once the season begins.
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The Patriots' current tight end situation is bleak: Behind 38-year-old Ben Watson, who's suspended for the first four games of the season are a group of newcomers who have never caught a pass from Brady: Matt LaCosse, Lance Kendricks, Stephen Anderson, Ryan Izzo and Andrew Beck.
If this group can't click with Brady, co-host Chris Simms expects the Patriots QB (or his head coach, Bill Belichick) to at least reach out to Gronkowski during the season to see if he's interested in coming back.
That's obviously a lot of conjecture, and we're likely months away from Gronk even considering an NFL return. But it sounds like Brady could play a role in swaying him if he so chooses.
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