Rob Gronkowski Isn’t Afraid to Say What Nobody Else Will
Rob Gronkowski has never been afraid to say what is on his mind, which is probably one reason why Fox decided to hire him to work on the network’s NFL studio coverage. He was a midseason hire, and it didn’t take him long to start making some controversial comments that drew attention from fans and the media.
In his Fox appearances, he has criticized former teammate Tom Brady and the Cowboys. Gronkowski may have a long broadcasting career in front of him if he keeps speaking his mind as he has been doing so far.
Rob Gronkowski’s playing career
Rob Gronkowski was one of the top tight ends of his era, and arguably one of the best all-time. In 115 regular season games, he had 521 receptions for 7,861 yards, and 79 touchdowns. He added another 12 touchdowns on 81 catches in 16 postseason games.
He was named to five Pro Bowls during his career. The biggest knock against him was his health and inability to stay on the field. Gronkowski played in all 16 games in each of his first two seasons in the league, but wouldn’t play more than 15 games in any season since then, with a low of seven games played in 2013.
If he played more games, his numbers would be even more impressive. But even with the stats as they are, Gronk has some of the best receiving stats among all tight ends in NFL history.
He has the 10th most yards in league history at the position, but he is fourth among tight ends all-time with his touchdown total — and he did it in less than half of the games of players like Antonio Gates and Tony Gonzalez, who are ranked No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, in touchdowns at the position. Gronkowski has a Hall of Fame-worthy resume despite playing in as few games as he did. Having two Super Bowl titles should help with his case for getting into Canton.
Rob Gronkowski on Tom Brady’s negativity
Gronkowski spent nine seasons playing with Brady on the Patriots, so the two players got to know each other well. But that didn’t stop Gronk from criticizing his former teammate on the air.
Brady grew frustrated with the Patriots earlier in the season when they were 9-1, and Gronkowski called the quarterback out for publicly airing his frustration with the team. Gronk said that Brady’s frustrations and negativity are one thing that he doesn’t miss there.
He added that Brady “should be happy” after beating the Eagles, but instead Brady is “sitting there Sunday night, like, ‘What did I do wrong?’ Like, no. That’s not the feeling that you should have.” He continued that Brady “should be pumped about the win” even though the Patriots’ offensive numbers in the game weren’t great.
Gronk on Jerry Jones and the Cowboys
Rob Gronkowski has also set his sights on the Cowboys and team owner Jerry Jones. When the Cowboys played the Patriots, weather conditions were not good with rain and wind. Gronk praised the Patriots and head coach Bill Belichick for practicing outside in all kinds of weather conditions, even if it’s raining or snowing.
He criticized the Cowboys, on the other hand, saying “if there’s a little rain in Dallas, a little snow in Dallas, Jerry Jones comes down and says ‘do you guys want to practice in the bubble today?'”
Gronk said that was why the Patriots had the advantage against the Cowboys, and that was why they would win the game. He was right about that, as the Patriots beat the Cowboys, 13-9.
