Rob Gronkowski thought Tom Brady was done-done.
Gronkowski was asked by Boston.com about the percolating rumors that his former quarterback in both New England and Tampa Bay could un-retire for a second consecutive offseason.
“That was a surprise when I saw that news,” Gronkowski said. “It actually put me on my toes. I was very shocked when I saw that.
“I feel like Tom is definitely totally done playing. I haven’t talked to him or anything about it. I’m not speaking for Tom.”
“Just from everything I saw from his retirement video and everything I just feel like he is just done playing football,” Gronk added. “It was just very shocking though when I heard that news the other day.”
Rich Eisen was the first to get the ball rolling on the Brady un-retirement gossip as he spilled a series of rumors he was hearing during the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis.
“This one just blew my mind: Tom Brady might not be done after all,” Eisen said.
“A couple people were just like, ‘Hang on, just you wait.’ And I was like, ‘He’s Instagramming out pictures of his cat.’ But it doesn’t look like he’s getting big and fat, does it? Let it play out. Let’s see who wants what.”
Eisen continued that Miami is a destination that makes sense with long-term question marks about Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa’s health.
“The one place that folks are saying to keep an eye out for is Miami,” Eisen said.
“If the Dolphins, somehow or some way get a doctor’s report or piece of information from a medical evaluation of Tua [Tagovailoa] that he may not be ready to go, and suddenly there’s Tom Brady sitting in Florida, where his family is located and where he can easily locate himself.”
The 45-year-old Brady responded to this segment, joking about how there’s not enough time in the day for him to take care of said cats and return to football.
Nevertheless, Dolphins rumors have continued to manifest.
Scott Zolak a former Patriots quarterback and current broadcaster, asserted earlier this week that Miami is in the mix.
“Brady may go to Miami,” Zolak said on NBC Sports Boston. “I think that’s in play. I do. I think the possibility of him coming out of retirement is definitely 100 percent in play.
“You can sit there and look at the kitten tweet from [Tuesday.] Don’t buy that.”
The Dolphins stirred even more speculation on Friday when they adjusted star wideout Tyreek Hill’s contract to add $18.6 million in cap space and bring their total money available to sign free agents up to $30 million.