Rob Gronkowski to come out of retirement, join Buccaneers via trade

Rob Gronkowski decided he wanted to return to the NFL and play with Tom Brady. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New England Patriots have made it happen.

The Buccaneers traded their 2020 fourth-round pick to the Patriots for Gronkowski and a seventh-rounder, ESPN reported Tuesday.

Agent Drew Rosenhaus told ESPN that Gronkowski passed his physical.

Gronkowski retired after the 2018 season, but decided to join Brady with his new team. The two were teammates in New England from 2010 to 2018 and won three Super Bowls together.

The Patriots controlled Gronkowski’s NFL rights, meaning he couldn’t simply come out of retirement and sign with any team he wanted. The tight end has one year and $10 million remaining on his contract.

Gronkowski recently signed with WWE. He hosted “Wrestlemania 36” on April 4-5 and won the “24/7 Championship” that weekend.

But it was always a possibility that Gronkowski could return to football. There was speculation he would re-join the Patriots in the middle of the 2019 season, and he was seen working out with Brady at one point last summer.