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Rob Gronkowski Eyes a Big Season With Buccaneers Following Year Two of Coming Out of Retirement

Published 08/18/2021, 9:30 AM EDT

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USA Today via Reuters

Rob Gronkowski stunned the world back in 2019 when he called it quits on his NFL careers before the start of the NFL season. A three-time Super Bowl winner with the New England patriots, the tight end was a crucial piece to the Patriots offense.

But Gronk wasn’t away from the field for too long. Following teammate Tom Brady’s move to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2020, the tight end announced that he’d be coming out of retirement to play under Bucs Head Coach Bruce Arians.

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And that definitely wasn’t a decision Gronkowski regrets. Once again pairing up with Brady, the Buccaneers marched on to the Super Bowl to defeat the Kansas City Chiefs on home turf.

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Claiming his fourth ring, Gronkowski in now hungry for more. 2020 was his first full season without an injury in nearly a decade. And now resigning with the Buccaneers for 2021, Gronk expects bigger things to follow in the upcoming season.

Rob Gronkowski aiming big in 2021

While Gronkowski’s contributions were limited early on in 2020, the tight end really turned up in Super Bowl LV. Scoring two touchdowns, the tight end was instrumental in the Buccaneers 31-9 rout of the Chiefs.

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Now 32, the tight end recently talked about the one aspect of his game that he really thinks has improved over the offseason.

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“First off, conditioning wise. Coming off a year of not playing (in 2019) and then heading into a camp like this, it’s hard work. Coach [Bruce] Arians works us hard. He gets us in shape. He makes sure our bodies are ready for the upcoming season. That’s one of the biggest things I feel like is just being in shape,” he said while talking to the media.

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Lauding his coaches’ contributions, Gronkowski stated that being in proper shape to take on the new season is perhaps the biggest upside he sees.

“They’re doing a good job as coaches – giving me the reps, giving me them back-to-back to make sure that I’m staying in shape and that I’m getting in shape. That’s a big point of emphasis is staying in shape, so I can go full speed every play.”

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Gronkowski is already in elite company. Winning four Super Bowl rings is no mean feat. But winning a fifth would put him level with all-time great Charles Haley for most Super Bowl wins. Most Super Bowl wins following Tom Brady of course. But Brady is in a league of his own, so let’s not even go there.

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Written by:

Shivayan Roy

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Shivayan Roy is currently an NFL writer at EssentiallySports. After completing his Masters Diploma in Journalism from the Asian College of Journalism, Roy functioned as a reporter for Goal.com and extensively covered the FIFA U-17 World Cup.
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