Gronk freezes out future
Tight end too busy to look ahead
FOXBORO — If sentimentality born of the possibility Sunday could be Rob Gronkowski’s final game at Gillette Stadium is one of the cards the tight end holds in his soul, he’s not about to show it. To do so would be to stray from the all-consuming task at hand: the Chargers. And there would be no talk of injuries, back, ankle or otherwise during his weekly media session. He practiced in the snow flurries along with the rest of the Patriots. “It’s the game of football. There’s no room for excuses,” Gronkowski said. “Everyone is dealing with something and you just gotta keep moving forward. You have to find a way. That’s what makes this game great. You’ve got to be mentally and physically prepared at all times.” And: “It’s a new season now, the playoffs, so whatever I’ve got going forward is what I’m going to give.” Does Gronk have one more big game in him? The Patriots will play anywhere from one to three games. Only one, the AFC Championship Game, does not have the benefit of a bye week. That helps. He had three big games during the season, so whereas Chargers three-time firstteam All-Pro tight end Antonio Gates still can make a big catch, Gronkowski is capable of a big game. He already has five more postseason touchdown catches (12) than any tight end in NFL history. Gates, 38, banks on savvy, but is slowed by a middleage paunch. Gronkowski, 29, once a faster version of Frankenstein with better hands, is more of a mystery and comes with a higher ceiling than Gates. The questions being asked about and of Gronk now are so different than as recently as a year ago, when he was first-team All-Pro for the fourth time. Even for a coach who repeatedly has demonstrated his preference for parting ways with a star player a year too soon, rather than a year too late, Bill Belichick’s attempt to trade Gronkowski to the Lions last offseason seemed stranger at the time than it does now. The benefit of time suggests Belichick saw the pre- cipitous decline coming, knew Gronk’s body was about to betray him. And Lions coach Matt Patricia, an assistant to Belichick from 2004 through 2017, didn’t see it, further proof that copying a former boss’ vision is a great deal more difficult than aping his charm level. Had Patricia seen any red flags, he would have shared them with general manager Bob Quinn. Belichick seeing this coming would explain a couple of things. First, Gronkowski’s contract was loaded with incentives, in part to save cap space, and no doubt in part simply to save money. Second, the Patriots made the unusual move of using a first-round pick on a running back, Sony Michel. If an offense can’t rely on a tight end to turn a defense’s attention to shutting down the middle of the field, then a power running game must fill the void. As recently as 2015, the Patriots passed 65 percent of the time, a figure that dropped to 55 percent this season. Lacking the speed on offense that most remaining teams have, the Patriots will have a tough time advancing without at least Gronkowski or Michel having a big day. Regardless of whether the Patriots play one, two or three more games, neither the question of what’s next for as entertaining a tight end as has ever played the game nor the answer is likely to change. Gronkowski’s contract calls for him to earn $9 million next season, a figure the Patriots aren’t likely to pay him. He threatened to retire a year ago, when he was coming off of a terrific season. Based on the unevenness of his performance this year, it’s obvious his aches and pains have grown louder. Gronkowski and those close to him are the only ones who know what he’s thinking about his career longevity, but from the outside looking in, retirement certainly seems the most likely outcome.