In what has been a wild off-season for the New England Patriots, another domino of the Tom Brady era fell. Patriots traded Rob Gronkowski to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in exchange for a fourth-round pick in this year’s draft. The trade marks an end of an era that saw Gronk become one of the most successful tight ends in all of the National Football League.
He helped bring back the tight end position at a time when the tight end was not thought of as a primary pass-catchers. With several Super Bowl appearances, Pro Bowl appearances, and over 7000 receiving yards, he truly left a mark on the Patriots organization.
I give my four thoughts on the Patriots trading Rob Gronkowski and what it means for both organizations moving forward.
Tom Brady gets a security blanket back
The trade of Rob Gronkowski to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will certainly benefit an aging Tom Brady. Having Mike Evans and Chris Godwin is a bonus. However, a huge part of their game is relying on the deep ball. That’s not the only part of their game, but it’s certainly a huge part of what they do. Brady has never been a top-notch deep ball quarterback to begin with, and having Gronkowski will give him in a security blanket.
We saw last year how much the tight end position truly means to the New England Patriots offense. Not having Gronkowski ( or a playmaking threat at the position) really hurt Brady. There were times when Brady needed a security blanket to throw to, and he didn’t have that. As a result, he often had to throw to the outside receivers or Julian Edelman. The problem with that was, it was extremely predictable for a defense.
Having Gronkowski in Tampa Bay will allow the Buccaneers to have several options for Brady to throw to. If Gronk plays at a level similar to what he did in New England, Brady will have a security blanket. At the very least, he will give Brady a target to throw to in the red zone.