When the Atlanta Falcons season ended in the NFL Championship, many considered it a foregone conclusion that future Hall of Fame tight end Tony Gonzalez was going to call it quits. Having played a total of 16 NFL season and being the all-time leader in Touchdowns and receptions for tight end, a Super Bowl was the only thing missing from Gonzalez’ resume.
It appears Gonzalez thought his best shot at a championship was this season, because he made it clear that he planned to retire at its conclusion. Now Falcons GM tells Pro Football Talk, that may not be the case.
“Tony has done so much for us on and off the field and I don’t believe, not stating that he would be lying to anyone, but I don’t believe the 95 percent,” Dimitroff said.
“I want to believe it’s a lot closer to 50/50, to be honest with you, and we’ve had discussions. Obviously Mike Smith has had discussions with him. We’re all in a good place. Ultimately it’s up to Tony to decide if he wants to come back and potentially catch 100 balls again. I think it’s one of those situations that Tony was so effective for us down the stretch and I can’t imagine that his appetite wasn’t sort of whet from his contributions in the playoffs.”
We’ll have to see what Gonzalez decides ultimately.
With the team being so close to a Super Bowl berth, perhaps Gonzalez wants to give it one more run.