Rob Gronkowski would retire rather than play for Lions

Adam Schefter's Sunday morning scoop is about a trade that nearly fell in April. Normally, reports of trades that did not actually occur are much less juicy than those that have occurred or could be in the future. But Schefter's report – which quotes a previously unknown team from a report by Ian Rapoport a few weeks ago – has a major element "lol lions", so it's worth reading.

During the off season, according to Mr. Schefter, Lions and Patriots were "plunged into commercial discussions" around the week of the project for an agreement involving the dispatch of Gronk to Detroit. But when Gronk heard about the deal, Gronk got angry. And the Lions did not like him when he was angry:

When Gronkowski discovered that he could be traded to Detroit that week, he threatened to retire rather than surrender to Lions, sources said. Gronkowski even refused to dismiss Lions calls, despite former Patriot leader Bob Quinn and coach Matt Patricia running the Detroit organization.

It was at this point that the Gronkowski and Patriots officials met, the two sides discussing a plan for the Pro Bowl to continue playing, but only in New England. The Patriots then canceled any trade deal with the Lions, leaving Detroit disappointed.

There are many ways to see this. The boring way is that Gronk was just happy with his situation in New England, and he did not intend to continue playing football elsewhere. This is confirmed by the initial article in Rapoport, which said: "He told his family that he only wanted to catch Tom Brady's passes."

The most amusing way, however, is that Lions are so irreparable that no veteran still playing at a high level would dare to play for them if he had a choice. Or, a third way – Matt Patricia is such a bizarre phenomenon that Gronk is determined to avoid it at all costs. You are free to choose the explanation that suits you best.

Update (11h00): Schefter left with the first explanation in a follow-up tweet:

[ESPN]