The Tampa Bay Buccaneers already have Cameron Brate and O.J. Howard on the roster at tight end, but they just added a five-time Pro Bowler and three-time Super Bowl champion to the depth chart. On Tuesday, the Bucs and Patriots agreed to a trade involving Rob Gronkowski, who is coming out of retirement to reunite with Tom Brady.
The Buccaneers are sending the Patriots a fourth-round pick in exchange for Gronk and a seventh-rounder, which isn’t a steep price to pay for the 30-year-old tight end. What’s costlier for Tampa Bay is his contract.
According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, Gronkowski will honor his current contract, which has one year left on it for $10 million. The Buccaneers will take on the remainder of Gronk’s deal, and once the trade is finalized, his contract will be added to their cap obligations.
Agent Drew Rosenhaus tells me, "Rob has agreed to play for Tampa this season.
He will honor his current contract at this time.” Gronk has taken his physical. https://t.co/Epnwrv86Ha— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 21, 2020
Gronkowski has begun putting on weight after spending last season out of football, so he should be ready for the start of the 2020 campaign – whenever that may be.
The last time he was on the field, he caught 47 passes for 682 yards and three touchdowns in 13 games during the 2018 season. In his career, Gronkowski has 521 receptions for 7,861 yards and 79 TDs.