Buccaneers GM: 'It would be hard to turn down' Rob Gronkowski return despite signings

Future Hall of Fame tight end Rob Gronkowski has repeatedly insisted that his latest NFL retirement, the second of his career, is for real and that he "wouldn’t go back to football" even if "best friend" and Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady called him about potentially returning to the organization to chase one last Super Bowl ring together. 

The Buccaneers are seemingly taking Gronkowski at his word. They came to terms on a deal with former Minnesota Vikings Pro Bowl tight end Kyle Rudolph ahead of training camp and then generated headlines when they signed seven-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Julio Jones earlier this week. 

However, Tampa Bay general manager Jason Licht admitted on Thursday that the figurative light is on for Gronkowski if he has second thoughts about his status at some point during the fall months. 

"I don’t want to deal with hypotheticals," Licht responded when asked about Gronkowski possibly wanting to play later this year, per Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. "We all know that Gronk is a heck of a player — it would be hard to turn down." 

According to multiple reports, Brady has lost starting center and 2021 Pro Bowl selection Ryan Jensen to a serious knee injury that Jensen suffered during Thursday's practice. One wonders if that setback may ultimately cause the seven-time Super Bowl champion signal-caller to seek out the services of Gronkowski just so he has a familiar security blanket on the field sooner rather than later.