Gronk won’t dish dirt on grid future
FOXBORO — Rob Gronkowski stepped up to the podium yesterday, but he wasn’t in the mood to talk football.
Appearing in full motocross garb, Gronkowski discussed the Monster Energy Supercross event at Gillette Stadium, his childhood love of bikes and four-wheelers and more. But the Patriots tight end avoided questions about his future with the team.
Asked about his status for the 2018 season, Gronkowski deferred in humorous fashion.
“My status is doing really great. I’ve been riding dirt bikes. I’ve been training really hard. I can vroom vroom really good. I can ride that bike like no other,” he said.
Gronkowski said fans could expect a “freak-aleek” when he returned, but backtracked soon after.
“Uhh, maybe,” he said when he was asked if he would return in 2018.
Gronkowski also confirmed he would not be attending Patriots optional workouts, which started last week.
“No,” he said. “I’ve got dirt biking skills to work on.”
He also dodged a question about whether he was considering retirement.
“It depends how my racing skills go today,” he joked.
Gronkowski said motorbikes and four-wheelers have been a lifelong passion dating back to his youth in Buffalo, but his riding activities have been far more limited in the offseasons during his football career.
“(I’m) not dirt biking or anything. Sometimes fourwheelers, but not all the time now,” he said. “When I was growing up it was all the time. We used to do it every day. Now, just once in a while. Not too much. I’m not hitting the jumps.”
The press conference did little to clear the air on Gronkowski’s status for 2018, and probably added fuel to the rumors — which have been circulating since the Pats’ loss in Super Bowl LII — he might be stepping away from the game.
“I’m definitely gonna look at my future, for sure,” he said after the 41-33 loss to Philadelphia on Feb. 4. “I’ll sit down in the next couple of weeks and see where I’m at.”
The last few months have produced numerous reports putting Gronkowski’s commitment to football in question, including one from NBC Sports Boston’s Tom E. Curran claiming the tight end almost walked away from football during training camp prior to the start of the 2017 season.
In February, Curran said it was “starting to wear on (Gronkowski) mentally and physically, the atmosphere in Foxboro . . . He seriously considered stepping away from the game in training camp.”
Gronkowski’s antics could also be related to his contract, which has two years and $17 million remaining. The Herald’s Karen Guregian reported earlier this week Gronkowski and the Patriots have been discussing his deal.
Showing up at Gillette Stadium for a motocross event but not voluntary team workouts is definitely one way to send a message to Patriots coach Bill Belichick.