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Rob Gronkowski

WWE, Injuries Could Send Rob Gronkowski Into Early Retirement

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New England Patriots star tight end Rob Gronkowski dropped a bit of a bombshell on the sports media world a couple of weeks ago. Following a tough loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl 52, the man known as “Gronk” admitted he wasn’t entirely sure about his future.

As in, the 28-year old may not be coming back to play in 2018.

Since Gronkowski suggested his future could be in limbo, the Rob Gronkowski retirement rumors have picked up some steam. Several reports have blended together to make the future look rather bleak for New England getting their top receiving threat back on the roster come next season.

Serious Thought

Per reports, “injuries have taken a toll” on Gronkowski, who is one of the most physically dominant players in NFL history, but has endured a litany of injuries. Those injuries have often forced Gronkowski to miss time, play hurt or even required offseason surgey. It’s easy to see the impact, too, with Gronkowski missing 26 games in his career due to several ailments.

The biggest problems Gronkowski has dealt with are a chronic back issue, a broken arm and a torn ACL. In addition, Gronkowski is understandably facing the constant risk of concussions in such a high contact sport.

While everyone seemed to take Gronkowski for his word initially, many likely chalked his pessimism up to losing one of the biggest games of his pro career. Gronkowski was reportedly thinking about his future before the game even started, however, with some reports suggesting he’d been pondering retirement “for some time”.

When questioned about his future immediately following New England’s Super Bowl 52 defeat, Gronkowski seemed borderline annoyed that word had gotten out about his plans.

Other Ventures

On top of Gronkowski’s injury history, it’s arguable that one of the best tight ends in pro history has already accomplished everything he’s wanted to in the sport of football. Gronkowski already has played in and won multiple Super Bowls, he’s put up staggering stats and by all accounts has cemented himself as possible the greatest tight end ever and he hasn’t even hit age 30.

There is another chapter looming in Gronkowski’s life, too. There have been whispers that Gronkowski has serious interest in media projects that could take him out to Hollywood, while the WWE may try to lure him away from the NFL, as well:

It remains to be seen what Gronkowski will actually do. He’s not even 29 years old yet and if he is thinking about leaving football for other ventures, those are things that will probably still be available to him in a few years. Gronkowski could still add to his impressive numbers and chase down more titles, but he’s young and has the world at his feet. It’s not crazy to think he’s ready to move on and let someone else take a beating every Sunday.

Gronkowski has the personality and fame to be just as famous – if not more so – without putting his body at risk. The fact that he has so many tantalizing options on the table may stir up further interest in the wager some NFL betting sites have right now regarding his future.

Betting Impact

Bettors might not be able to make money by wagering on Gronk’s impact on New England in 2018, but if they guess correctly and bet accordingly, they might be able to make some cash if he ends up retiring. Due to the mounting evidence, that’s something bettors may want to consider, and also something Patriots fans will want to brace for.

That’s especially true for New England. The Pats remain the favorites to win Super Bowl 53 (+550 at Bovada), but how far could those odds tumble if their best passing weapon calls it quits?

It’s easy to go either way on that one. For one, this is probably the best tight end the league has ever seen. That’s an elite red-zone target that Tom Brady won’t have at his disposal any longer. Then again, New England did win Super Bowl 51 with him on injured reserve.

This actually could be a bettor’s dream, too. New England already offers amazing betting value at these odds. Rob Gronkowski retiring could drop them even further and potentially make the Patriots the most attractive bet on the board.

There is a lot of time between now and the start of the 2018 NFL season and it’s likely that Gronkowski will take most of it to decide his future. Whatever happens, however, the Patriots could be impacted by his decision and sports bettors need to be ready to take advantage of it, one way or another.

Week 1 NFL Betting: Rob Gronkowski Injury Could Hurt Patriots

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The New England Patriots were already facing an uphill battle in week one, as star quarterback Tom Brady begins to serve the first of a four-game suspension. Jimmy Garoppolo at least had ample time to prepare for a daunting road game against the Arizona Cardinals and had a healthy supporting cast aiding him.

Emphasis on had.

Gronkowski Ailing

Per reports, Patriots star tight end Rob Gronkowski has been dealing with a hamstring injury and may be in doubt for New England’s week one contest on Sunday Night Football.

The Pats were already going to have their work cut out for them on the road against one of the best teams in the league, but now it’s starting to look like Garoppolo may be tasked with moving the ball and scoring without the game’s top tight end.

There had been whispers surrounding Gronkowski’s status over the past week, but the player himself admitted recently that he could be closer to “week to week” than ready for a big game that arrives in less than three full days.

Between the Lines

It’s obvious any extra hits that come this week could shake the Pats ahead of a huge game, but Gronkowski referring to his injury as a weekly issue doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll sit out or even be effected. He also stated in his recent comments that he wants nothing more than to be ready and on the field, so it stands to reason that he and the Pats will do what needs to be done to get him active.

There is also the possibility that while Gronkowski’s issue is nagging, it doesn’t keep him from at least showing up and taking the field. Gronkowski even at 75% or as a decoy could be quite useful to a team down their star quarterback.

Backup Plan

The silver lining here is the Pats did take measurements to ensure they were good to go at tight end, as they traded for former Bears tight end Martellus Bennett this summer to help add depth and versatility at the position. The team would prefer to be utilizing Bennett’s size and red-zone ability in two-tight end sets, but if Gronkowski does sit, they also know they have a competent starter that can step up in his stead.

Bennett was a very productive starter in Chicago and while his role is initially expected to decrease in New England, he could find himself very busy in week one if Gronkowski is out or hindered at all.

Bad Bet

With or without Gronkowski, the Pats could be in trouble this weekend. They don’t have their star quarterback, they traded Chandler Jones away to the very team they’re facing and not having Gronkowski could accompany other injuries and suspensions that may hold the team back early on this year.

New England will ultimately be fine and could still offer a competitive game on Sunday night, but they’re not safe bets in Arizona. If you’re doing any NFL betting this week, we’d advise you just steer clear from this game, altogether.

2016 Fantasy Football ADP: Why You Can Wait on Tight End

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One thing has become abundantly clear in fantasy football: there is Rob Gronkowski and there is everyone else. That isn’t to say that guys like Travis Kelce, Tyler Eifert or Jordan Reed haven’t played themselves into that “elite tight end” conversation. But with Jimmy Graham being traded and later injured in Seattle last year, the throne rose up a few hundred miles.

Gronk is Still Tops

The proof was in the pudding in 2015, when The Gronk had almost 30 more fantasy points than any other tight end. Closest to him was the random Gary Barnidge, the often hurt Reed, the over-compensating Greg Olsen, Delanie Walker and the aforementioned Eifert and Kelce.

There are problems with associating these guys with Gronkowski, however. Barnidge could easily be a one-hit wonder, Reed has a sketchy injury history, Olsen needed to be huge last year with Kelvin Benjamin hurt, Eifert has been hurt more often than not and Kelce works out of a system that continues to curb his upside.

Of the entire lot, only Walker is truly “safe”, but he lacks the upside any of those guys possess.

Fluctuating Position

Of course, this is all simply in the “#1 tight end talk”. From there, the pack is far from Gronkowski, which tells us we can take a shot on Gronkowski early in drafts, but if we can’t get him (or don’t want him), there is little reason to press the issue at the position.

Tight end is better now than it has been in the past, partially because of talent, but also due to fluidity. Barnidge, Eifert, Ben Watson, Richard Rodgers and Zach Ertz all climbed the fantasy ladder, while Graham, Jason Witten, Antonio Gates and Martellus Bennett all fell.

The point? Get Gronkowski early if you want, but then choose wisely from that point on. The harsh reality is you can roster two solid tight ends and really just stream the position throughout the year, based on trends and matchups.

ADP Shows Value

The ADP data over at FantasyFootballCalculator.com shows us where the value is, too.

Gronkowski is going off of fantasy football draft boards around round two, with Jordan Reed coming off two rounds later in round four. On average, fantasy owners can expect to see the next best option going off the board in each successive round, with the likes of Kelce, Eifert, Olsen and Julius Thomas all being picked between rounds 5-7.

This is where the value comes in, as Coby Fleener is steadily rising up draft boards due to his athletic upside as the main option in New Orleans. That’s assuming his bad awareness, drops and the presence of Josh Hill don’t collectively become an issue.

In the case of Fleener, his upside is seeing him drafted in round six, ahead of more stable guys (who also possess plenty of upside) like Julius Thomas, Gary Barnidge, Delanie Walker and (gasp!) Tyler Eifert.

If that value wasn’t jaw-dropping enough, guys like Antonio Gates (#2 tight end in 2014), Zach Ertz (10th tight end in 2015), Jason Witten and Jared Cook (interesting sleeper now that he’s in Green Bay) are all also available after Fleener is typically drafted.

Overall, the value is clear at the tight end position. With so much talent and risk involved, it probably doesn’t pay to take a tight end early. Unless, of course, his name is Rob Gronkowski.