It’s been a day of bombshell reports and rumors coming out of New England. And this one takes the cake.
First, an unconfirmed report surfaced this morning the Patriots were working on a deal to trade Rob Gronkowski. Since then, it was suggested that New England had offers on the table from both the Titans and 49ers for one of the best tight ends ever to do it.
The latest stunner, though? Per reporter Adam Kurkjian, New England was on the verge of trading No. 87, but Tom Brady threatened to retire if a deal went through.
From multiple sources, here's what I have re: the Gronk rumors. Told Belichick wanted to trade him. Offers on the table w both the Titans and 49ers. He and Robert Kraft had a closed-door meeting to discuss. Tom Brady threatened to retire if the deal went through. Kraft nixed it.
— Adam Kurkjian (@AdamKurkjian) June 8, 2018
Anyone else speechless?
As mentioned above, the Pats had been in talks with both Tennessee and San Francisco, a pair of teams who would love to add a weapon like Gronk to their offense.
Bill Belichick, per Kurkjian, wanted Gronk out of town, and had a meeting with owner Robert Kraft about it. But Brady got word of this and prepared to drop the hammer.
Gronk’s actions on the practice field this past week were… interesting. He legit screamed “woo!” after most catches. He’d high step after the other catches. He was trash talking. Oh, and he launched a ball into a tree on the sideline.
Seemed to me like he was free and happy.
— Mark Daniels (@MarkDanielsPJ) June 8, 2018
Imagine a world in which both Brady and Gronk were no longer on the Pats. Yup, that’s a dark and scary place.
For their part, of course, the New England PR shop has vehemently denied Kurkjian’s report.
Statement from Pats PR head Stacey James: "I would say with the utmost confidence that none of that is true. None of it."
— Adam Kurkjian (@AdamKurkjian) June 8, 2018
The Patriots are already reeling from the stunning news of Julian Edelman’s suspension. Losing more playmakers would be the boiling point for fans everywhere.
For now, it doesn’t look like any blockbuster trades will be going down. But that all could change very soon.
And if for some reason it does, TB12 will be absolutely livid.
