Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Bye-Bye Brady, Gronk Next?-Discussing Brady’s Retirement and Gronk’s Future in Tampa — 2/4/21

Episode Date: February 5, 2022

With Tom Brady’s retirement now official (or at least, officially announced) what is next for the greatest of all time? And…might another ex-Pat be the next to hang up his shoulder pads…again?? Host Mike D’Abate welcomes Clare ‘ClazzyClare’ Cooper to discuss Brady’s retirement, his legacy with the New England Patriots and some tight-endage thoughts on Rob Gronkowski’s future in the NFL.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Built BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKED15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.GetUpsideJust download the FREE GetUpside App and use promo code TOUCHDOWN to get 25 cents per gallon or more cash back on your first tank.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You are Locked On Patriots, your daily New England Patriots podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Hello to all of you Foxborough faithful. You are now locked into the Locked On Patriots podcast. And a sincere thank you to each and every one of you for making Locked On Patriots your first listen every day. Remember, Locked On Patriots, free and available on all platforms. And today's episode of Locked On Patriots is brought to you by GetUpside. Download the free GetUpside app and use promo code TOUCHDOWN to get $0.25 per gallon or more cash back on your first tank.

Greetings and salutations, Patriots Nation. Thanks for joining me here today on the pod. My name is Mike DeBate. I cover your New England Patriots for Patriot Maven of Sports Illustrated. I am also your host of the Locked On Patriots podcast, which, of course, is a proud part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. And, folks, because it's your team every day,

that means your questions, comments, and feedback are always welcomed, very much appreciated. So share that feedback. Send it to the Internet by reaching out to me and following me on Twitter at MDABATENFL. While you're out there doing some midweek meddling through the Twitterverse, please be sure to follow the Locked On Patriots account as well at LO underscore Patriots. Pats fans, sometimes life gets in the way, and unfortunately, recently for me, that has indeed been the case. The erratic schedule here on Locked On Patriots has been difficult to follow.

I definitely get that. For those of you that are Locked On Patriots loyalists, I remain steadfastly thankful and grateful for all of your support. I am truly honored to work for a company like Locked On and be able to host a podcast each and every day covering a team I grew up idolizing. Not a lot of people get that opportunity, and I'm extremely, extremely grateful for it. One of the best parts of it is interacting with all of you out there, the great listeners of Locked On Patriots,

and, of course, to be able to share the microphone with some of the great guests here in Patriots Nation, and my guest today is no exception. Her wit and wisdom keeps her coming back here each and every week to Lockdown Patriots and I for one could not be happier to welcome here today my good friend the Empress of Tight Endage herself. Yeah she's got a lot of names I'm not going to go through them all now I'll do that when I welcome her in properly in just a moment but you know her as Claire Klaziklair Cooper. Claire joins me today to talk about Tom Brady and the reflections of his retirement.

We'll also talk about Rob Gronkowski. Does Tom's retirement mean that Gronk may be following him out the door very shortly? Well, Claire and I have some thoughts on that. And we'll share those thoughts along with some of our favorite Tom Brady memories here today on the Locked On Patriots podcast, free and available wherever you get your podcasts.

Hey, Patriots fans, this is Mike DeBate, host of the Locked On Patriots podcast, with an incredible app everyone who buys gas needs to know about, GetUpside. My listeners are earning cash back for every gallon of gas every time they fill up. Just download the free GetUpside app in the App Store or Google Play right now. Use the promo code TOUCHDOWN for 25 cents off per gallon or more on your first fill-up.

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The cashback gets added right to your account. You can cash out anytime to your bank account, your PayPal, an e-gift, Amazon card, other brands. Just download the free GetUpside app and use promo code TOUCHDOWN to get $0.25 per gallon or more cashback on your first tank. That's code TOUCHDOWN. Patriots fans, thank you once again for making Locked on Patriots your first listen each and every day. Always remember that Locked on Patriots is free and available on all platforms. And it is Wednesday, February 2nd here on the pod. Groundhog Day, Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow six more weeks of winter.

I don't know if you saw a shadow or not, but in any case, I only saw six more weeks of winter and it kind of bums you out. And here in New England right now, there's not a whole lot to be excited about. Tom Brady making his retirement announcement on Tuesday and rubbed some people the wrong way up here in New England. But it's a time of reflection. And we look back on the great career of Tom Brady and the 20 years of excellence he had up here in New England. What does it mean for the New England Patriots fan base, and who might be the next expatriate to announce a retirement shortly? All of these are great questions, and the great thing is today, folks, is that because it's Wednesday, we have our resident lady of lockdown here to talk all things Tom Brady and the New England Patriots. She is a phenomenally talented columnist from That's Propaganda.com, as well as Full Press Coverage Patriots. Also on that platform,

she hosts her very own podcast. And folks, I keep saying each and every week that this is a must listen for all patriots fans please smash that subscribe button for a claire perspective the podcast yes the claire is able to compile are worth it alone but when you take under account the wit and the wisdom that she's able to provide insight that only she can provide it really is a must listen one of the best listens for patriots fans out there subscribe Subscribe, listen, you'll definitely be glad you did. She is also the third voice of One Patriot's Place, alongside our good friends, the legendary Thomas Murphy, and our resident voice of reason, Steve Balistrieri. Joining me here today is the Baroness of Blockers, the Principal of Positivity, the Empress of Tight Endage, the Queen of T.E., the empress of tight endage the queen of te the

countess of class herself miss claire classy claire cooper claire thank you for joining me today and wow i did that almost all in one breath i'm very impressed well michael it's wednesday and what do we do on wednesday we hit lockdown patriots because it's fun it is fun. It is fun. And I'm glad that you agree with that. I hope our listeners agree with that as well. Me too. Each and every Wednesday when you join me here on the pod, I could not be more happy. I could not be more grateful that you take the time out to join me and lend that wisdom, that positivity the way only only you can and the insight that you're able to provide is always second to none Claire so

Claire obviously the big news this week Tom Brady retiring after 22 seasons in the NFL mind-boggling just to think about what that means playing football for that long it really is truly remarkable and the amazing thing about it is that he's still playing at a high level. He's walking away from the game when he still has something to contribute. Definitely not complaining about it when it comes to Tom, because Tom truly is a remarkable treasure in the NFL, and he has earned the right to be able to walk away on his terms. So happy for him. But some Patriots fans weren't as happy for him,

especially when he left them out of his initial message to the world, letting everyone know that he was retiring from the game of football. Claire, I'm not going to put you on the spot. I'm not going to ask you or lead you one way or another as to how you should feel about Tom's message or his career. But as you look at things, what are some of your retrospective memories when you think of Tom Brady as an NFL player in a Patriots uniform, maybe even a little bit in a Bucs uniform? What are some of your favorite memories and some of your thoughts on Tom's retirement? Well, first of all, when the news kind of was leaked or when the news was announced, either way, really, I've got to admit I'm one of

those Patriots fans that wasn't especially surprised now that's not in any way detrimental it's simply because it it kind of looked like it was coming even though it was as you said it was leaked sort of on Saturday I mean the guy reached the top. He literally had, as they like to say at the moment, nothing left to prove. But I think the most important thing was what he had left to prove for himself. And I think that was kind of done as well. He knew that he could go somewhere else. He knew that he could build a team somewhere else. And he won a Super Bowl doing that.

And I think that was kind of the mark of him. He knew that it was him. He knew that. I know, obviously kind of the mark of him he knew that it was him he knew that I know obviously saying that the whole Brady Belichick I don't mean it was only Brady don't get me wrong what I just mean is that he knew that he was capable of doing that and it was on he it was on his shoulders so I have to say I genuinely wasn't surprised and unlike a lot of Patriots Nation I'm not actually that upset now bear with me kind of no hate mail it's nothing against what he's given us that kind of thing it's nothing to do with the fact that he didn't mention kind of Patriots Nation in his kind of goodbye speech or whatever that kind of thing it's simply because for me as a Patriots fan

the time that I kind of mourned it was when he left New England that was what it was for me as a Patriots fan, the time that I kind of mourned it was when he left New England. That was what it was for me, because I'll be honest, I did find it slightly difficult sometimes watching him play in a different uniform. And so his retirement to me means I kind of don't have that kind of, oh, he's, you know, he's in the wrong kind of, in the wrong colours, that sort of thing, throwing a pass to Gronk to celebrate in in a Bucks uniform it all felt a little bit jarring um to me now that is nothing to say that I didn't appreciate what he gave us as Patriots it's not I was always very sort of thankful for that bear him no ill will but I didn't kind of like the fact that he left to go

to another team it sort of felt wrong for me when it happened so I understood why he did it he they needed to break from each other he you could see that he wasn't in a place that he wanted to be um and so he left to kind of go somewhere else. He needed that change. And I understood that sort of thing as a Patriots fan. It still didn't feel right to me when he left kind of thing. I think for me as a Patriots fan, his retirement would have been nicer had he have done it from New England. Now, I know there's still talk of him coming back for a day to retire as a Patriot. I don't think that I think he's gonna do that now you know me I'm not the most decisive of people um so I I'm not really sure I I think he should as a fan I hope that he

does because I just think it would be nice that the last team you know that's that's on there that's on record is Tom Brady New England Patriots I just think for the fan base that's that's on there, that's on record, is Tom Brady, New England Patriots, I just think for the fan base, that's a nice thing, for the record books, if you like, that's for a nice thing, but it doesn't really erase anything if he doesn't, his career was so phenomenal, he did what, he was a bolt of lightning in a piece of ice, that's this remarkable form that's unique there there isn't anybody like him and I don't actually think we're going to get anybody like him again and that's why sometimes the the Brady comparisons are so kind of exhausting because it's like you how can you compare to to this sort of such uniqueness but they're always going to compare him because he was the top he was

the best and I think he's going to be the best that there ever was and that's not a slant on any other quarterback in the league now or in the future I think Tom Brady was definitely a very special a very different individual to really capitalize on the skills that it needed to be the best at his position and he did that and he's kind of left I said I think I said it last week when we had a discussion about this he's kind of he's done it the Belichickian way he's left one year too early rather than one year too late and I said to you that I think this is a lot about his brand I'm not surprised that he's done it that way because it's so difficult to sort of see where you're going to drop off a cliff anyway and he sells kind of nutrition fitness that kind of thing so I think

leaving while he's still got something in the tank is just good business on on his part in in that respect but I think it's also part of his kind of winning mentality he's he's not the kind of guy that deals very well with losing I know not anybody does but you've seen it you've seen it in his emotions after he's had like a even I think he's we even had some in 2019 in the 2019 season we even had some press conferences where he looked really bummed out and they'd won and it was like you can see that this guy needs to to win at the peak performance and I think that's probably why he's left it he's leaving now or he's left now I suppose we should say because it has been official he's left now while he knows that he's at that peak. And you can see that.

I mean, I think he was PFF. We were talking about it last week. PFF had him number one of everything. Most of the statistics that you look at at the moment, kind of PFF and ESPN, that kind of thing. You'll see that Brady's number one in this and the other. Yeah, there's a couple of other figures that he won't be. But you can't really be much more on top than that in all fairness and I mean bearing in mind that the guy's going to be 45 this August he really is the epitome of of the top quarterback that the peak

of his of his sport of his career that kind of thing so yeah I wasn't at all surprised yes I'm saddened in the way that the league the league itself is poorer for his absence he is the best quarterback sort of to watch and it and it is a joy to watch him as I mentioned as not to repeat myself but as a Patriots fan watching him once he'd left New England wasn't as much of a pleasure for me as I know it is for other Patriots fans because I know other Patriots fans have dealt with it differently and I respect that and they enjoyed watching him there was always that part of me that wasn't enjoying watching him I didn't want him to not succeed but part of me didn't want him to succeed just because he'd left us and and I didn't want him to not be a patriot and and all those kind of selfish emotions so him retiring all I can really see is is is the goodness

from it in all fairness because it means that one I don't have to watch him as a book which I quite like two we haven't had to see the decline of Tom Brady and I think this might be a point that people are missing I know that a lot of people have said they thought he might go for another couple of years because he was still doing so well he was he was kind of still so top of the tables but we haven't had to witness our hero decline and I think there's something to be said as a fan for that to not have to go kind of go through that sort of thing because it is awful to see these guys deteriorate in and it's a very physical sport and so we haven't had to see that

and I think that in itself is quite a nice thing that we can take away the nicest memories that we've got of this guy rather than yeah but did you see him in his last year and he threw so and so interceptions and they certainly that he really wasn't Pete Brady we don't have to see that we get to just see Pete Brady and I think obviously as I mentioned some of that's a business perspective and and some of that's the the kind of the the personality that he's got as a sportsman to be the peak to be the best and he can leave knowing that he is the best because there isn't a doubt about it regardless of if you're a Patriots fan I know a lot of kind

of Chiefs fans would like to argue and stuff but you can't you you can't look at his career you can't look at however you want to look at things if you're a statistics person if you're a game watching person you know however you judge things, however minded you are, you cannot look at the career of Tom Brady and not say he is the best and he is the best that has come so far. And I genuinely believe he is the best that ever will be. Yeah, a lot of that is my naivety of being a Patriots fan. I get that because you kind of, you love your team and and that sort of thing but you you he's just so it's just such a whirlwind of crazy I mean he was picked 199th and he's like it's it's

phenomenal what he's achieved how good he is the way that he's maintained it over such a long period of time there's not many there's not many anythings that you can carry on over 20 years I mean sheesh loads of marriages can't even you know make it that kind of thing you know the epitome of being together so I think that they don't make 20 years because it's just such a long period of time to to be so consistent and to be at the top so yeah um to answer your question I think I think I'm answering your question that I'm not surprised I'm not actually too sad um as I said I kind of mourned it when he left New England so I'm not I'm I'm not having the anger and all that emotion I haven't got all that now part of me is just a little bit sort of the relief of we didn't witness the decline

I don't have to watch him as a book anymore it is sad he's not in the NFL and he is this you know the greatest of all time that everybody wants to compare to so you know just I just wish him well and I just hope that you know he's he doesn't just disappear and we still see from him occasionally just not in a cringeworthy way I hope he doesn't do like the kind of the gronk insurance adverts because they're really cringy yeah well we're gonna get to that in just a moment yeah we're gonna get to that in a minute Claire put out a lot there to unpack. And believe me, I completely agree with you on the nature of Tom Brady's retirement and not having to watch a point in his life where family became the most important thing for him. Football was no longer something he could dedicate 100 percent of himself to. And not to say that he didn't dedicate 100 percent of himself to his family right along, but there is a balance.

And I think at this point, in order for him to say, I can give everything that I have to give to my family and everything that I have to give professionally to football, whereas my personal life is all dedicated to my family. I don't think that 50-50 balance was there anymore. I don't think he could give it 100% from both arms. One of them had to give. And at that point, you always choose your family and their obligations over professional obligations. And that's exactly what happened. Tom had reached the pinnacle of his career and felt that this was the opportunity for him to ride off into the sunset. And I think that there is a good amount of,

I guess relief, I guess is a better way to put it for myself when it comes to not having to watch a steady decline on the field, because that's the second part of it. There is a brand a tb12 brand right now that can have tremendous amounts of success it already has and it can even uh you know reach new heights considering what tom was just able to do play at an elite level at the quarterback position in the nfl at 44 years old that really is a remarkable thing that most

people would never even dream of, but Tom Brady did it and he almost made it look easy. And that really is the brilliance. I think of what we're going to miss most from Tom on the field. Most people didn't give him credit for the skillset and the skills that he had because he made it look so easy. Oh, it's just a check down. Oh, it's just a five yard pass. Some of the things that he did that looked mundane were so difficult to do as a quarterback. And if you didn't get that and you weren't in tune with that, you're not giving him the proper credit that he deserves. You're probably looking through things at envy colored glasses.

Maybe now Tom Brady in retirement will get that second look from fans of other organizations that spent so much time vehemently hating the guy. They can really appreciate what type of player we saw on the field for 22 seasons in the NFL, 20 of those with New England, of course, two of those in Tampa Bay. You kind of alluded to this a little bit, Claire, and I think we will do a little bit of a back and forth. Brady's announcement yesterday did not mention the New England Patriots one bit. Mentioned the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Glazer family was thanked. The general manager, Jason Light, was thanked. Bruce Arians, his head coach, thanked the Buccaneers teammates. Didn't call anybody out individually, but he thanked his Buccaneers teammates.

Then the message took on a little bit more of a personal role. He thanked his family, obviously, his friends, associates, business associates. Alex Guerrero got an individual shout out, but no mention of the New England Patriots, no Robert Kraft, no New England Patriots fans, no Bill Belichick. Automatically, the media frenzy machine jumped right in with both feet um people that have taken a lot of opportunity to take shots at tom over the years up here in new england were all too eager to take this shot at him when they saw no new england i can guarantee you that there were certain organizations locally that lit up like million-dollar gold pieces when they saw that the New England Patriots were not mentioned. It's,

oh, nonstop content. Here we go. Yep. You know, the radios are going to be going crazy. The phone lines are going to go nuts. People are going to be upset. Let's fuel into that. Instead of stopping and thinking about what may actually still be to come. Again, you mentioned this a little bit, and I'm not going to get you to speculate on what exactly is going to happen. I know you said that you don't believe that Tom will sign the other one-day contract. I think there's maybe a 50-50 chance of that happening. I'm not 100% supremely confident, but I think there may be a little more of a chance than that than some people are giving it credit for but um how surprised were you just as a fan to not see a mention from Dom Brady yesterday I think that there wasn't anything that there wasn't even a hint was surprising now I didn't I didn't have the kind of the outrage and and I respect everybody's opinion on this so you know each to their own but I must admit to not have even a little sentence was quite surprising now with regard to him retiring as a patriot

I just I want it to happen I just I don't really I wouldn't be surprised if it didn't more than anything I don't know if I think it's not going to happen I just don't think I'd be super surprised I don't actually think there's anything now that would surprise me in all fairness when it comes to all this kind of thing because it's it's kind of never how you wanted the time that I learned to not be surprised was the time that I didn't think Tom Brady was going to leave the Patriots and he did after that I'm not everything everything just goes whatever kind of thing really that that was my turning point that was my epiphany of ah if Tom Brady can leave the Patriots heck anything can happen so I'm not going to be surprised anymore so yeah

that's how that one worked out so I hope that he does retire a patriot I was I was kind of I know that other people have been mildly suspicious that if he didn't mention the patriots or patriots nation or the or the craft family is something else coming like is he going to retire a patriot is he coming back is he going to do a press conference there's all these kind of different ifs but candidates isn't there at the moment so I was surprised that he didn't mention at all I'm not surprised that there's not a big thing about it because he already did that when he left New England so he did that once kind of thing in that respect so not shocked that there isn't a big flowery thing shocked that there's absolutely zero mention which

is what makes me suspicious like other people that maybe something is coming that's going to be very new england central but saying that i wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't because he left new england as he said two years ago not patriot anymore he just because he was a patriot for 20 years doesn't mean he's a patriot anymore because he's not he went and it was all about the books and he took them to a super bowl now that doesn't erase anything that happened as a patriot but he's he's a different guy he's a different quarterback he's a different in a different place at a different time in his life so it's all very different for him so in that respect you can see why it was so books heavy if you like

still i am gonna repeat myself and say i i was surprised that there was nothing that there was nothing about patriots nation and that is why there is still part of me that thinks maybe something else is coming even if he's not going to retire as a patriot something else you know might come out i've heard that he's not he wasn't in the country i don't know if he's not going to retire as a patriot, something else might come out. I've heard that he's not he wasn't in the country. I don't know if he's in the country. No, obviously not my country, because then he'd be in the UK. So that wouldn't be the case. You know, in the country, I mean, in the US kind of thing. So I heard that he was like on vacation or not in the country and stuff like this. So maybe he's putting something together. I think the most surprising in the fact that the absence of any Patriots mention is really the absence of mentioning anything to do with Kraft.

And I know obviously Belichick was such a key and the fan base in all fairness was also a key to his success because of the support and the love that he got over 20 years. I mean, that's a big deal. I think the the absence of mentioning anything from Robert Kraft because of how he said you'll you'll never regret this or something that the famous quote that obviously I'm remembering incorrectly but um that he said so to not kind of go there at all I think that's the snub that I'm most surprised at because they gave him, you know, he wouldn't have, he's still the GOAT, but he wouldn't have been

had he not been given that chance sort of thing. So had he not been nurtured in the way that he was, he wouldn't have reached the dizzying heights that he did. He may still have reached dizzying heights, but he wouldn't have reached what he did without Belichick and without Kraft. So I think that's the bit that surprised me the most, that the lack of that more than anything.

So I just kind of hope for the fan base that something else is coming because I know, although I personally, I'm not majorly, majorly fussed, I know that it felt like a snub to a lot of Patriots fans and I can see why. I can appreciate why and sort of sympathise why it would, especially those fans that have been a fan for this you know

for longer than brady was even a patriot so it is kind of a lot for them not to be thanked although they were two years ago so so maybe they could republish what he put out two years ago to sort of remind us all that he did sort of thank us to that kind of thing so yeah yeah i think in a lot of ways you make a lot of sense uh when when you look at what happens with the toms well you usually do i mean there's no uh there's no it's not rare it isn't rare that's why we have you on here each and every week countess you know you bring the wisdom and counsel the way only you can but at the same time i also look at things from a lot of different perspectives first of all i don't blame patriots fans for feeling the way they felt yesterday um i'm not saying that there's

anything that uh that really could have comforted you in that circumstance and i mean look for lack of a better term tom brady's statement yesterday did feel like a little bit of a sting it felt like a little bit of a slight especially when you saw that the picture that he used was a picture of pointing in triumph. And that was on the Gillette Stadium field. I was at that game. I covered that game. I know the emotion in the crowd was definitely stirred. A lot of what went on in the locker room, a lot of what went on behind the scenes, from what I understand, was extremely positive between the two sides. It

really made you believe that these two sides were going to eventually come together in some way, shape, or form. And that's what I tried to remind Patriots Nation about yesterday. This could have been handled a whole lot better. I'm not sure how much of Brady's losing control of announcing his own retirement had to do with how this was handled. I really think that this had to come together very quickly. I think that maybe there was a little bit of a leak in problems that were going on that may have contributed to him having to make an announcement before he really was ready. Because at this point in time, you know, he went on the podcast the night before he announced his retirement, goes on Jim Gray's podcast, well,

his own podcast, the Let's Go podcast with Jim Gray hosting, saying, I still haven't made my decision. I'm still, you know, mulling things over. And then the following morning, he releases a nine page or a nine tab message on Instagram and on Twitter. It just sends the wrong message. It's not like Tom Brady is still mulling things over, talking to Jim Gray, wakes up and decides, all right, I made my decision. Let's write this and let's get this done. It's not how it works. So I think in a lot of ways, this came together. I think he wanted to get out in front of it before any more information came out. I still believe there's something more here than meets the eye. And at the end of the day, folks, this was a great 20-year experience. If you're a Patriots fan, it's unprecedented. We're never going to see this type of success

once again. It's an opportunity to reflect on that, to focus on the good that came between the union, between Tom Brady and the New England Patriots, whether it be the fans, Robert Kraft, Bill Belichick. There's so much there to savor. There's so much there to enjoy. To me, that's the essence of Tom Brady. And that's how I choose to remember it. So if there is another shoe to drop, and folks, please continue to stay tuned because there's

a lot of errant information out there, but where there's smoke, there is some fire. I'm just going to say that. So don't just sulk and hang your head and think, oh, that's it. He didn't do it and he's never going to do it. Just let nature take its course. That's really all I can say right now, but let nature take its course. And in the meantime, enjoy the great times that we had up here because six Super Bowl championships in that small amount of time, I'm sorry to say it, folks, it's not going to happen again anytime soon. Claire, we've talked

a lot about Tom Brady, but one thing we haven't talked about is a subject that you love to talk about, and that is tight endage, folks. You didn't think Claire was going to come on the show without talking a little tight-endage, and Claire, I got a real special treat for you today. We are talking your favorite tight-endage subject of all time. Now that Tom Brady has ridden off into the sunset, will Rob Gronkowski follow him shortly? Claire and I will discuss that and more when this Wednesday episode with the Countess of

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And Clara, in the previous segment, we talked a lot about Tom Brady, whether the fans are justified in feeling slighted by his announcement, what his legacy means, and really just what Tom means to the game of football. But Tom may not be the only expatriate riding off into the sunset this year. Now that he's retired, Rob Gronkowski, I know you've heard the name before, Claire. I can clarify if you're not familiar with who the man is. Surely I just folks. Claire's been waiting for this one all week basically Rob has said that he has no desire to play alongside any other quarterback but Tom Brady Tom's comeback in

Tampa Bay was really the only reason why Rob agreed to put his shoulder pads back on and play a little bit longer Tom never had that physical decline on the field. Dare I say, I'm going to go out there on a limb and say Rob Gronkowski never really did either, but he is definitely not the same player. Age and injury have definitely treated him a little bit more harshly than Tom. The nature of the position he plays, the nature of the way he plays the game. But considering the physicality that Rob has shown all throughout his career really is amazing that he's still able to do what he does especially after the injury history that he's had claire you followed rob gronkowski about as closely as anybody uh that i've worked with in this business um or that i've been around uh no not that type of following folks but she's not that she hasn't gone to that level yet let's clarify

here exactly no no there's no legal uh problems here or anything like that but um claire in all actuality and all all kidding aside um you have uh you know been a close fan of rob's you've you know followed his career you've had the opportunity you know, been a close fan of Rob's. You've, you know, followed his career. You've had the opportunity, you know, to cover his career as well. Your thoughts on Rob Gronkowski and whether or not that's the next shoe to drop. I know I'm using that term a lot today, but is that the next, you know, retirement to come out of Tampa Bay? Is there any scenario where you see Rob Gronkowski coming back to play alongside another quarterback well to be honest Mike I think most people would probably say no it seems to be really the common perception that Gronk isn't going to be coming back if Brady's not coming

back he may have even sort of said it himself previously when asked you know he's taking time to think if he was asked right now he wouldn't come back anyway that kind of thing so I mean the thing with Gronk is he left the sport once because he was literally kind of broken down now I know you mentioned it just that you didn't feel that he had sort of the the injury decline now I agree with you he didn't have a significant one in his skill set but when he got to the end of of that season and he retired I think that was the the edge of the decline if he'd have gone any further it would have broken him and so rather than break he he walked away and that was tough and I've got to admit that was the moment that really I was really upset with, because as you meant, Gronk for me was Gronk is why I fell in love with the sport in the first place.

And that's why I always hold him kind of dear to my heart anyway. Technically, he's not my favourite tight end anymore, because when he went to the books, he became not my favourite tight end anymore in all fairness but I'll touch on that in a bit so but yeah um when he retired battered and broken it was that that was kind of the moment that for me that he kind of left the sport and left as a patriot so I think looking at how he's had this I know he's had some injuries this season as well. He has been playing really well. The last lot of stats to come out for Gronk this season, or this season we've just had, I suppose I should say, on PFF. Thanks, Chudders. Was 55 receptions, 802 receiving yards, six receiving touchdowns. And that's all, you know, those are all reasonable numbers.

Five drops, I'd just like to point out. In comparison, Hunter Henry, zero drops this season. Don't hate at me, people. I'm a big Hunter Henry fan. So, you know, he's not kind of down there with the lowest of the low Titan. You know, he's still one of the sort of the upper echelon of elite of Titan, in all fairness. So for him to retire now, he might be doing a little bit

of a Brady of he's kind of battered and bruised as I mentioned he's had some injuries this season he's lost some time due to injury so he's come back he's proved he can come back and he's come back with his friend obviously in Tom Brady so I think it's pretty much a given most people if you ask would say they reckon that Gronk's going to retire a lot of it just because of how he's sort of mentioned it himself and how he said that he he doesn't want to play with another another quarterback other than Tom and I can I can completely respect that I mean how can you want to sort of play the game without that guy who is such you know the greatest of all time and stuff like that so because he's had a lengthy career he's had a

very successful career but he's had a very injury not prone but he's had a career full of injuries I do think Gronk kind of looks at it in a different way of, well, I know that I'm still successful. I can still be successful at my position. My body is starting to get older. It is starting to it's going to take longer to heal that kind of thing. And I'm not going to get to play the game with the guy who I want to play the game with. So what really would be the point of him continuing to play football? Now, I appreciate he loves that he would probably loves the sport as I imagine all NFL players have got this love this desire to play and that that's why

they're up there in the eliteness of of the NFL but it just seems to be maybe too many factors now he hasn't really got anything more to prove yeah okay he's not number one tight end now but he's had a severely successful career as a tight end he is one of the best tight ends and he's probably one of the most prominent tight ends that probably in history that people will recognize if not more so just because of like his size and his personality he's it's difficult to miss Rob Gronkowski in all fairness so he he hasn't got much left to kind of notch up he isn't going to put up any better numbers if that's something that drives him I'm pretty sure it doesn't but if it did he isn't going to be putting up any better numbers particularly now he hasn't got you know the greatest of all-time quarterback you know in his corner sort

of thing so I don't think he's really going to be able to prove more in that respect I'm not saying I'm right I could be wrong of course but he could come back and play with a different quarterback but I just from everything that he said I don't see it I don't think many in Patriots Nation see it from the you know from his career that he's had I don't think he's got anything left to prove to himself, let alone anybody else. And he would be better. He hasn't got the brand that Brady's got, of course,

but he would be better getting out of it while he's not completely broken. We've seen Gronk play battered, bruised, semi-broken, and it's not fun. He's too good and nice a guy to to even want to see that anyway not that you want to see any player but I so I just think that he's still got a relative amount of fitness and you know he's he's faculties and stuff about him even though he is a kind of a bit battered from this season that I think for him to retire would be, it just seems common sense now, more than anything.

As much as I do love seeing him play, and again, the same as the Brady thing, it did still sting seeing him in a different uniform, sort of playing for a different team, getting those touchdowns, that gronk spike sort of thing. As a Patriots fan, there was still that element of sort of sadness about it so him retiring for me as a Patriots fan I'm fine with it because I don't have to witness him in in a uniform and as I mentioned about the Brady thing we don't have to see our hero deteriorate we've seen it semi with Gronk because of like as you said the player position and the amount that he's been injured, that kind of thing.

But we don't have to see that ultimate off the edge of a cliff. He would be walking away still being one of the top tight ends. We know that he's still a very good player at the sport and he kind of will go down in history as always been that and and I think it just would really make sense for him to step away now rather than move to a different team or play under a different quarterback it's not going to be the same it's not going to gel the same for him so he's kind of what is he 31 now I think I shouldn't have to ask that should I I should know this but it's not like he's got a lot of his career left ahead of him it's not like he's only played half of his career and he's still got so much time that kind of thing so I think he can be he can walk away extremely happy in the

knowledge that he you know he did it with the best and he was and he'll always be one of the best yeah we can't quite say the whole Brady goat thing but I'll always be one of the best yeah we can't quite say the whole Brady goat thing but I do he's one of the best times I think that there will ever be and I think now seems the most that the best time to walk away it's just that will it be kind of overshadowed because it's at the same time as Brady retires but for him to come back when Brady moved I think there was always going to be this element of he'll retire at the same time so maybe that maybe that's why Tom didn't mention anything in his in his kind of leaving speech maybe we're going to see this massive big gronk Brady thing

and they're going to come to New England and do a big party maybe gronk's like yeah don't don't mention the Patriots let's go to new england and let's like raise the roof off gillette or something and and that's how it's going to be and they're going to they're both walk off to the sunset together and retire together you know the the greatest of all time sort of patriots and that kind of thing so maybe we'll sort of see that hopefully you know claire patriots Nation loves the way you think. I think that'd be an awesome party. And if Gronk's throwing it, you know it's going to be wild, folks.

You know, anything that you've seen, you know, take the hangover, bachelor parties, anything that you could possibly imagine, Gronk's going to put that all in there. Family friendly, of course. You know, let's be honest. You know, you want the kids to be able to come out and enjoy this one as well. But no, all kidding aside, I do think there is something more than meets the eye there with Tom and maybe with Rob as well. Who knows? Look, with Rob Gronkowski, I think there is also an element, and this is very similar

to what was the case with Tom. He's reached a pinnacle where he is arguably the greatest tight end to ever put on shoulder pads. I still stand by that assessment. I don't think anybody has eclipsed him. I love watching guys like George Kittle, who can do it all, who can be that type of, you know, hand in the dirt tight end that can, you know, that can block and then he can go and be a prolific receiver downfield. Travis Kelsey is one of the best receiving tight ends I've ever seen. The things he can do on the field are great, but Gronk was able to blend that ability with being able to block without having field awareness.

He could do it better than anybody. I think he redefined the position, you know, and in a lot of ways, whether it's pass catching, whether it's route running, whether it's blocking, Gronk played hard on every snap, on every single down. Whatever you want to say about him off the field, how it ended here in New England, how he went down to Tampa, I know that didn't sit well with a lot of the fan base, but bottom line, he continued to set the standard, and he did. He played at a high level in Tampa.

Off the field, to me, is where Bob Gronkowski's accomplishments really set him apart from some of the criticism that he's received up here. To me, and getting a chance to know people that have been around Rob, getting a chance to have been, you know, around him very briefly, you know, myself for a period of time, he sets that example. Generosity, compassion, frugality is something that I want to give him credit for as well. Rob is always given that type of fraternity boy, party guy mentality. But Rob is used as an example for a lot of rookies coming into the NFL as to how to be able to manage your money, to be able to make it work for you, get endorsement deals, be very smart and be very frugal in your first couple of years.

Don't go on massive spending sprees and empty out your bank account and spend the money before you earn it because you could get into problems that way. Rob did this very smart. And for all of the, like I said, the party, you know, wackiness and the craziness. Exactly. Absolutely. Thank you. Couldn't have said it better myself. For all of that, there is a lot to learn from Rob Gronkowski. So, you know, he's, even if he does walk away from the game at this point, and I happen to agree with you, I think he will. There's nothing more to prove why at his stage, by the way, he's 32. And why? Yeah, I just, yeah, my bad. It's okay. That's no problem.

That's no problem. That's why we're a team here, Claire. That's where that works out well. But there's no reason to me why he would go and learn another system, play with another quarterback for at maximum, maybe a year or two. You have to think that he was ready to walk away before and seemed pretty content in his decision. I think he came back in a lot of ways because he saw that football could be fun again, playing alongside John Brady. And they had a lot of fun down in Tampa Bay the last couple of years. But I think this is probably his time to walk away as well.

So, yeah, I just, you know, the end of an era, really, when you look at the New England Patriots and that dynasty era, these players keep getting, you know, taken away from us rather than given to us. And it really, really makes you wonder about guys like Devin McCourty, Dante Hightower, Matthew Slater. McCourty looks like he's ready to come back. Dante Hightower, we haven't heard too much of yet. Matthew Slater is still pretty radio silent. So those may be the next names to watch in Patriots Nation. But for right now, we continue to give reverence to Tom Brady and who knows, maybe an announcement coming from Rob Gronkowski one way or another. Again, folks, we don't know. This is speculation, but, you know, just logically, it seems to be the next, you know,

shoe to drop. Yeah. Claire, Claire, what can I say? I thank you so much for joining me here today and for taking time out the way you always do each and every Wednesday. Folks, stay tuned for a special compilation, greatest hits episode of Locked On Patriots. We've been a little bit sporadic on the airwaves lately due to some issues on my end, which I've explained previously, but

that will change. That does change this week, and Claire and I have shared the microphone the last couple of weeks. Unfortunately, it didn't make it to air, but please stay stay tuned for that some great stuff coming and a lot of fun uh you know between the two of us on the microphone in the meantime Countess thank you once again for gracing us with your presence before I let you go today please let all of our listeners know where they can find you interact with you and what you have coming up from the great voice and the great pen

of the countess of class herself miss claire clazy claire cooper oh thanks mike it's always loads of fun to come on locked on obviously so yeah um folks please look out for the the weekend compilation that's going to be some fun hopefully i just need to make a quick point out that although hunter henry yes my big kind of tight end love there's still that affection that I have for Ryan Izzo before I get anybody saying oh what about Izzo I still I still hold affection for my my tight end rebound from when Gronk left of Izzo so Izzo if you're listening don't worry it's it's all fine just wanted to put that in there mention that though but guys if you want to catch my crazy you can catch it on twitter

at clazy claire which is c-l-a-z-y-c-l-a-r-e as you guys probably know by now i write for pat's propaganda you can find my podcast a claire perspective at fullpresscoverage.com which is for full press coverage patriots the most recent was last monday before kind of everything kicked off so if you do want to go back and have a listen that was just me and jerry thornton of barstool sports having a lot of fun just chatting patriots so that's still available my next episode will be next week so watch out for that and as mike mentioned each and every week one patriot's place is there for you patriots nation with steve balistrieri thomas murphy and myself on the microphone so you can pretty much find me pretty much everywhere. So like patspropaganda.com,

4presscoverage.com, e2gsports.com, you know, just whatever. You can find me. If you want to find me, you can find me. I have not gone off in the off-season. And hopefully, if you keep an eye on Pats Propaganda, we will be getting some stuff together while the off-season's going on and that kind of thing. So there's always stuff coming out. So, you know, if you're ever kind of bored, Patriots Nation, you'll be able to find something somewhere to amuse you because that's what I am. Kind of crazy. Folks, Claire says you can find her everywhere by all means. Do yourself a favor, find her. Definitely find the great work that she does for Bats Propaganda. You definitely won't be disappointed. Some of the more

enjoyable and informative columns that I've read anywhere in sports media. And also, check out everything that she does on the microphone as well. I know you love the voice, the accent, the giggle. We all love that, but it's the wit and the wisdom that keeps you coming back. It keeps you coming back here to Locked On Patriots

every week, but it's also why some of the best in the business that keeps you coming back. It keeps you coming back here to Locked On Patriots every week. But it's also why some of the best in the business are eager to share the microphone with Claire. You know, she puts on a great show. Smash the subscribe button to a Claire perspective, a podcast. You will not be disappointed. Countess, thank you so much for joining me here today. Talking a little Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski. Looking forward to chatting again with you here next week,

right here on Locked On Patriots each and every Wednesday. Until then, continue to stay safe, stay well, and thank you for being such a great friend to the Locked On Patriots podcast. Oh, you are more than welcome, Mike. And I will see you next Wednesday, Patriots Nation.