Gronkowski confirms he threatened retirement if traded to Lions

DETROIT — The day began with an ESPN report that the Lions and Patriots were deep into trade discussions about Rob Gronkowski. The night ended with the tight end confirming that he nixed the deal because he considers himself tied to Tom Brady.

"Yeah, it happened," Gronkowski said after the 26-10 loss to Detroit. "Brady's my quarterback, that's all. Wasn't going anywhere without Brady."



BSJ analysis

It was certainly interesting — and emblematic of the Patriots' tumultuous past year — that Gronkowski publicly confirmed the report and almost took pride in tying himself to Brady — and not the Patriots and/or Bill Belichick.

If things in Foxborough were as buttoned up as they used to be, Gronkowski would have "no commented" the story. But this goes along with the post-Super Bowl comment about thinking about whether he would continue playing, his ridiculous offseason press conference and his decision not to show for offseason workouts. Basically, Gronkowski and Brady are marching to their own beat right now, and Belichick can't do anything about it.

Will that have any effect on the field? Doubtful, but you never know.