'BAD BOYS FOR LIFE'

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New Bucs TE Rob Gronkowski (left) and QB Tom Brady (right) holding Lombardi Trophies at Fenway Park in 2017 via Getty Images.

Written By: Johnny Maffei
It all started with a tweet from Barstool Sports' PFT Commenter's dog Leroy's Twitter account.
Then Gronk went on Andy Cohen's TV show, virtually of course, and added some fuel to the fire.
The "Big J Journalists," as Barstool calls them, gave these rumors some legs today, and before most people could even speculate, Jay Glazer, Ian Rapaport, and Adam Schefter confirmed Rob Gronkowski and New England's 7th round pick will be headed to Florida, not to retire like the vast majority of people, but to do the OPPOSITE.
And of course, Tampa Bay signed and sealed it, in style I might add.
The Pats got a 4th round pick from the Bucs in return.

There are a few different ways to look at this:

A) Belichick Wins
Rob Gronkowski was retired and clearly stated he only wanted to play with Tom Brady under center.  Bill Belichick no longer has Brady so therefore he does not need to pay Gronk.  Belichick didn't know he could get a pick out of #87, but he wound up with a 4th rounder for a guy who wasn't even on his payroll.

B) Gronk Wins
The Patriots do not have a lot of caproom.  One way this could have gone down is Gronk told Belichick "if you don't send me to 'Tompa Bay,' I'll run routes for Stidham," and more importantly to BB: cost the Pats $10M or more.  Belichick didn't want that, he already wanted to trade him before the 2018 draft, so Gronk knew BB would fold and agree to move him.

C)Bucs Win
This perspective has two parts:

  • Brady got his guy, that alone is a Tampa Bay W.
  • The Patriots don't own a 2nd round pick, BB doesn't usually like such a big gap between picks and right now even though they have a whopping 12 picks, after their selection at 23 they are not on the clock until pick 87.

There was speculation that the Bucs could send New England their 2nd rounder, or possibly even swap 1st rounders.  TE OJ Howard's name has also been thrown around trade rumors this month, but Arians kept all of those assets and just had to give Belichick a 4th round pick.  Gronk's leverage (Point B) also contributed to being Tampa Bay's leverage.

I believe this is a win-win trade.  I think Belichick could have easily shut this all down, called Gronk's bluff, and see if he was REALLY going to block for Sony Michel again. It has a sentimental aspect to it knowing he won three rings with Brady and Gronk and now he is reuniting the two.  But hey, it's essentially a free draft pick, for a guy who loves a SURFEIT of picks.

Brady will certainly add to his own record of most TDs to different receivers (77!) with WRs Chris Godwin and Mike Evans on his side of the ball.  But that new record might have to wait if he finds Gronk in the endzone for the 79th time first

This is something I NEVER EVER thought I'd see:
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Emerson College '22 | Co-host/Producer of Ridin' Pine | Fmr #1 Show on WSFR | Fmr Full Press Coverage Patriots Writer | Socials: @johnnymaffei45