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Two days after the NFL draft, the Patriots Depth Map is pretty scary.
He has Austin Seferian-Jenkins, Stephen Anderson, Matt LaCosse, Ryan Izzo and Andrew Beck after Jacob Hollister was traded to the Seahawks on Monday and the team did not draft it on the weekend. The current group made a total of 35 catches last season and includes two players (Izzo and Beck) who have never played in an NFL game.
With the approach of the off-season, it seemed likely that Rob Gronkowski would retire and the Patriots would need to replace him. But the way all this happened gave them hope that he would come back and because of that, he was not as aggressive in adding tight points as they could have and Would've been.
Here is how it all happened.
Immediately after the Super Bowl, Gronkowski said he was unable to make any announcements.
"Tonight it's time to celebrate with my teammates and this decision will be made in a week or two," he said.
Two weeks later, his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, competed in ESPN's NFL Live and claimed that Gronkowski needed more time, but it gave more hope that he would come back because during the season he seemed almost at home. 100% sure it would be his final. season.
"I checked with Gronk a few days ago. I spoke with the Patriots about it, "Rosenhaus said. Right now, Rob is thinking. He thinks a lot about it. Rob will definitely, I think, make a decision in the foreseeable future. I do not want to put pressure on him and give him a schedule, but I imagine that it will be in the next few weeks. "
There was about a month left without an update or indication of Gronkowski and his camp until two days passed before the Rosenhaus standalone agent went on NFL Live again.
"I spoke to Rob last night," said Rosenhaus. "He's not even going to tell me, he said he's not yet made a decision, he's in good health, which I'm happy to say, he's feeling a lot better. play a Super Bowl injury – that the quad is healthy now.
"Personally, I just want what's best for Rob. I said: "Rob, take your time. Do what you believe in. He is already the greatest opponent of all time. He is a member of Hall of Famer in the first round. There has never been a close match like that. The sky is the limit for him. S? He returns to play, fantastic. Honestly, I do not know. I'm waiting to see like everyone else. "
Thus, the Patriots entered the country of free agencies not knowing exactly what Gronkowski was going to do. But, on the basis of what Rosenhaus said, he certainly seemed optimistic that he would come back to play. In addition, the longer the time elapsed after the Super Bowl without announcement was large, the more likely it seemed that he would come back.
The start of the free agency saw the start of the tight match with other teams, including Jesse James, Tyler Kroft and C.J. Uzomah. The Patriots were never in the game because they really did not know what was happening with Gronkowski and, if he came back, they obviously would not need another tight end # 1.
Then came the weekend before the owners' meetings late March and Bill Belichick seemed to decide that he needed a decision. That Thursday, Belichick reportedly called Rosenhaus to check on Gronkowski's status. Rosenhaus then told Gronkowski that he should soon make a decision.
Three days later that Sunday, the day before the NFL owners' meetings, Gronkowski announced to Rosenhaus that he was retiring.
"It's time," Gronkowski told Rosenhaus, according to Peter King of NBC Sports. "I just won another championship. I'm going out on top. I just do not want to do anything for a moment. I just want to be me. I just want to entertain. "
Gronkowski then called the owner of Belichick and Patriots, Robert Kraft, before making public announcement via Instagram early Sunday evening.
Meanwhile, at the same time, the Patriots lost another top, Jared Cook, as he decided between the Saints and the Patriots, but because he wanted to be number 1, he chose New Orleans without knowing what Gronkowski was going to do.
Gronkowski has no problem taking his time to make a decision because it was an important decision and he had to be 100% sure that it was the right one. But, taking all his time and retiring, he prevented the Patriots from doing everything in their power to replace him this year.
The organization missed all the strengths of the best free agents and, while many said they would fill the void through the repechage, it was clear that the Patriots did not think the restricted goals group was as deep . At the top, T.J. Hockenson and Noah Fant are great players, but as they are both very good, the Patriots have no chance to land them, even through trade. The other tight ends were just not worth selecting when they left.
The best the team could do was to sign the free-agent Seferian-Jenkins and LaCosse, who are decent pieces, but who are not essential players to build the tight position.
Now, the Patriots are looking for contributors just months before training camp, so the market is clearly not what it was. According to some rumors, Ben Watson could potentially disengage and join the team, but at 38, we can not hope much. And then, there is the potential commercial market, but with that, you give something back and there are not many options that seem very attractive in this way.
The Patriots will find a way to add one or two contributors over the next few weeks, but that's certainly not what they envisioned.
Despite all that Gronkowski wanted to say for the Patriots and what a great career he had, it became clear that he had not done them any favors regarding the timing of their departure.
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