Rob Gronkowski got a second chance in his playing career, but it didn’t end well. Back in March, he played for Team Founders with Tom Brady, Jalen Hurts, Stefon Diggs, Ashton Jeanty, DeVonta Smith, and Von Miller at the Fanatics Flag Football Classic in Los Angeles.
The game started well as he made three catches and a two-point conversion, but then Gronkowski injured his hamstring, raising doubts about playing football again.
“The flag football game this year, and then I played, had a wonderful drive, three catches down the field, the beautiful two-point conversion in back of the end zone, and then my hammy popped on me, and then those thoughts just went away,” Rob Gronkowski said to Sports Illustrated’s Claudette Montana.
The injury happened after catching the two-point pass. He fell to the ground. When Gronkowski tried to stand up, his foot slipped on a piece of turf next to the field, and he pulled his hamstring. The injury ended his day.
Gronkowski tried to see if he could keep playing after hurting his hamstring, but he decided it was better not to risk making the injury worse. He left the game after the opening drive.
Without Gronkowski, Team Founders struggled. Team USA defeated the Founders 43-16.
Not taking the risk makes sense because Gronkowski has dealt with several injuries during his career. In 2016, he suffered a hamstring strain during training camp. The injury made him miss the Patriots’ first two regular-season games. He returned in Week 3 but was still limited for a few weeks before fully recovering.
His 2013 season was even harder. Gronkowski missed a lot of time because of injuries and later suffered torn ACL and MCL injuries. He has also dealt with back problems, broken forearms, concussions, knee injuries, a chest and lung injury, and a thigh injury through his NFL career.
Despite all of it, Gronkowski had an excellent 11-year NFL career with the New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He played 143 games and finished with 621 catches, 9,286 receiving yards, and 92 touchdowns. Even though injuries caused him to miss much of the 2013 and 2016 seasons, he still never had a season with fewer than 540 receiving yards.
He now works as an NFL analyst for Fox. Despite the hamstring injury, Gronkowski has not ruled out playing in the flag football event again. The event has a two-year agreement, so it is expected to return next year, giving Gronkowski another chance to play if he is healthy.
So, if, at 42 years old, Aaron Rodgers can take over the reins in the NFL, even Gronkowski might return at 37.