It’s often dangerous to speculate of player returns or future trades in the NFL, but sometimes, where there’s smoke, there’s fire. A few rumors have been circulating through the football world ever since Tom Brady signed a contract with the Tamp Bay Buccaneers this offseason, and now it seems that retired tight end Rob Gronkowski — who is currently cutting it up in the WWE — could consider a return to football to play with his longtime teammate in Florida.
It’s not crazy to ponder what that type of return might do for a few teams in the NFL. If Gronk were to announce his return to football, it could potentially set a few wheels in motion that lead to many things, one of which is the potential Washington Redskins trade of LT Trent Williams… Let’s dissect how we got there.
Before we start, remember that the following is COMPLETE CONJECTURE and not actual reporting. This is just a thought experiment.
So Gronk announces that he is coming out of retirement and signing a contract with the Bucs. This gives them a veteran TE who knows Brady and can help them make a deep playoff run now. However, it also gives Tampa Bay a surplus of TEs on the roster, with OJ Howard and Cameron Brate also in the depth chart. However, they have a sizeable hole at the left tackle position, which could definitely be improved if they are to go the distance with an immobile QB like Brady under center. You know who has a sizeable hole at the TE position, but a Pro-Bowl left tackle looking for a new home? You guessed it: the Washington Redskins. Could there be a potential trade there?
A Cameron Brate-for-Trent Williams trade is not even, but the Redskins could potentially give up Williams if the Bucs offered a mid-round pick along with Brate. The Redskins then unload Trent’s contract demands and unhappiness with the organization, getting back a starting pass-catcher and a valuable pick in return. The Bucs get one of the best-left tackles in the game, and can then help ensure their star QBs safety on the blind-side. Win-Win.
None of this becomes possible if Gronk continues his body-slamming ways in the WWE, but if he announces that he’s coming out of retirement, the wheels of change are in motion, and the aforementioned scenario is not out of the question.
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