Rob Gronkowski is done fighting it.
Rather than push back against all the players and coaches who aren't buying that he's really retired from the NFL, the former New England Patriots tight end is taking a different approach to the comeback chatter.
"I embrace it. At first, I was like, ‘I just retired,’ and people are like, 'yo, you’ll be back,' " Gronkowski told The Associated Press' Avery Yang in New York, shortly after a press conference announcing his partnership with a CBD brand.
"It just shows that they miss seeing me on the field. You got to appreciate that and understand that. Maybe they’re going to try to talk it into existence."
Gronkowski has never really squashed the comeback talk since he retired in March. The 30-year-old certainly left the door open at Tuesday's press conference, insisting he could "play right now" if he wanted to and suggesting he'd be open to returning if he regains the passion for playing that multiple injuries took away.
For now, though, Gronk seems perfectly fine not playing football, especially after describing the painful quad injury he suffered in Super Bowl LIII that he says was his last straw.
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"I was like all right. This is a sign," Gronk told Yang. "I was saying to my friends that this (injury) is a goodbye present from the NFL."
Gronk's return would be quite the present for the Patriots, but he's currently content with letting people speculate freely.
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