Patriots trading Rob Gronkowski to Buccaneers for fourth-round draft pick

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are becoming the New England Patriots South as on Tuesday they shockingly acquired former Pro Bowl tight end Rob Gronkowski from the Pats with a couple of draft picks involved in the trade. This story broke very quickly after the NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported earlier in the day that the retired Gronkowski was "interested in playing football again" but told the Patriots he only wanted to play with Tom Brady and the Bucs.

Immediately, there was speculation that the Bucs and Patriots would work a trade ahead of this weekend's NFL Draft involving Tampa Bay end O.J. Howard (whom the team has put on the block), Gronk and perhaps a pick or two. Indeed, the deal did get done but Howard isn't a part of it -- now, there's no question he will be shipped out by Tampa Bay.

New England sent Gronk and a seventh-round pick to Tampa for a fourth-round selection in this year's draft. From a betting perspective, the trade has not affected Bucs NFL futures odds at William Hill sportsbook as of now, but if big money starts flowing on Tampa that could change. The SportsLine Projection Model bumps the Bucs from 8.5 wins to 8.8 after this deal. 

Gronk, who will be 31 in May, has one year and $10 million left on his contract. It's far from unprecedented for a retired player of Gronk's caliber to be traded. In April 2017, the Seattle Seahawks sent retired running back Marshawn Lynch to his hometown Oakland Raiders. The Silver and Black got Lynch and a sixth-round draft choice in 2018, and Seattle got Oakland's fifth-round selection in the 2018 NFL Draft.

Gronk is probably bound for Canton five years after he's truly done playing as he has caught 521 passes for 7,861 yards and 79 touchdowns in his nine seasons. He was a four-time All-Pro. A total of 78 of those TD catches were on passes from Brady. That's the fifth-most by any quarterback-receiver (not just tight end) combination NFL history. 

Gronkowski's last year was 2018 when the 2010 second-round pick caught 47 passes for 682 yards and three scores in 13 games. He had joined the WWE and earlier this month won the 24/7 Championship at WrestleMania 36. Before the 2018 NFL Draft, the Patriots had agreed to trade Gronkowski to the Lions, but Gronk told the Pats he would opt for retirement over playing with a QB other than Brady. 

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