Welcome to first and 10, a roundup of all the (mostly) Patriots-related news you need to start your Tuesday. Grab your coffee and let’s get to it.
A few notes to kick things off this morning...
• Was asked a lot on Monday about the chances Rob Gronkowski might return in 2019. Right now, I'd put his chances of being in the lineup sometime in 2019 at roughly 15 percent. Important to note Bill Belichick has had that sort of thing happen before -- Junior Seau did it multiple times with New England, coming out of retirement during the season. Not saying it's going to happen this time around. It's just that on Monday when he was asked if Gronkowski was really done, Drew Rosenhaus sounded an awful lot like a guy who was hedging his bets.
• The league made it official on Monday -- the Patriots won't be involved in the 2019 kickoff, as per tradition for the defending champs. This season, the 100th in league history, it'll go to the oldest rivalry in the NFL, the Bears and Packers. Instead, New England will host this debut of Sunday Night Football and drop the banner before the game. No opponent has been named, but my guess is that it's one of three teams: Chiefs, Steelers or Browns.
• Pro Day slate for Tuesday: Duke, Florida Atlantic, Florida International, Iowa State, Texas A&M.
Now, on with the links...
1. Got multiple questions about this in my epic Monday afternoon Q&A, so I took a look -- could the Patriots make a trade for a tight end? No names really jumped off the page, but there were four intriguing candidates. Basically, this boils down to a simple question: How would you feel about Kyle Rudolph?
2. Here's the transcript to Monday's Q&A, one that featured a bunch of awesome questions and (hopefully) a few good answers. Make a date to join us next Monday.
3. Spent some quality time Monday talking about Gronkowski and life for the Patriots' in the post-Gronk era with my buddy Chad Dukes on 106.7 The Fan in DC.
4. Also had some good Patriots' talk Monday with the guys from "The Drive" on 92.9 The Ticket in Maine. (And Greg talked Gronkowski's retirement with Gresh Monday as well.)
5. Andy Benoit of SI looks at how the Patriots might go about replacing Gronkowski. "Given third-string tight end Jacob Hollister’s familiarity with the offense, he could get significant consideration for replacing Gronkowski," Benoit writes. "Most likely, though, Gronkowski’s heir is not currently on New England’s roster, and the Patriots will have to pay a premium to change that."
6. Mark Chichester of Pro Football Focus says Gronkowski "step(s) away from the game as arguably the biggest mismatch weapon of all time."
7. Rosenhaus said he wouldn't be shocked if Gronkowski returned in 2019. "This is entirely me telling you just a gut-feeling -- I wouldn't be shocked if Rob were to come back," Rosenhaus told the NFL Network on Monday. (We're going to have to get the BSJ Digital Media Team to whip up a "GRONKWATCH" graphic, aren't we?)
8. Nate Davis of USA TODAY says Gronkowski retires as the greatest tight end in NFL history. "The Gronk persona definitely helped burnish his legend — though Belichick almost unfailingly noted what an unselfish and intelligent teammate Gronkowski was — but it was his physical dominance that truly distinguished him," writes Davis