As many observers expected, one of the greatest tight ends in history of football couldn’t stay on the sidelines for too long. After abruptly retiring fresh off his 2019 Super Bowl victory with New England Patriots and spending a year away from the game, Rob Gronkowski announced his return to football followed immediately by a trade to Tampa Bay Buccaneers. This move comes in the wake of Tampa signing Patriots legend Tom Brady in free agency, and immediately affects the NFL odds on JohnnyBet-NJ and other sports betting websites.
Of course, no one needs reminders about the lethality of the Brady-Gronk duo on the field. QB and TE won three championship titles together, and are widely considered among the best to ever play their positions – with numbers to prove it. Gronkowski scored 79 receiving touchdowns during his Patriot days, while Brady completed more than 65% of his passes directed to the big tight end. Adding this pair appears to be an instant boost for the Tampa Bay offense, as both players can be considered huge improvements over their predecessors. Still, there are some reasons to pause before handing the trophy to the Buccaneers right away.
Most importantly, nobody is completely sure how much either of those players has left in the proverbial ‘tank’. Both have amassed a tremendous amount of play time (including the playoffs), and at nearly 43 years old Brady is already defying conventional logic by playing so well for so long. Gronkowski still hasn’t turned 31, yet his physical style of play caused him to receive a lot of punishment and resulted in a lengthy injury history. While both players are currently healthy, their ability to appear in all 16 regular season games is questionable.
Also, the team will have to significantly change its scheme to accommodate the strengths of the two former Patriots. Tampa coach Bruce Arians is known for his love for long passes, while Brady and Gronk operate mostly in short-yardage situations and rely on moving the chains and gaining ground with regularity. Every good coach will tweak his style to match his personnel (especially when adding two superstars), but the fit might not be organic. The adjustment could take time and potentially cause friction if the losses start accumulating, so this dynamic is worth keeping an eye on early in the season.
