When someone says “Gronk,” they all conjure up the same thing: a 6-foot tight end who emphatically hits a football in the end zone.
New England Patriots legend and FOX NFL Studio analyst Rob Gronkowski was inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame on Saturday afternoon, receiving a red jacket to commemorate the honor.
“I fell to the Patriots for a reason. I came to the Patriots for a cause. It’s where I belong.” Gronkowski said when he gave his Patriots Hall of Fame speech outside Gillette Stadium on Saturday. “It’s where I was meant to be. It’s where I was meant to serve my time in the game of pro football. Everything, and I mean everything, fits perfectly like a glove behind that.”
Gronkowski, whom the Patriots selected with the No. 42 pick in the 2010 NFL Draft out of Arizona, spent nine seasons in New England (2010-18) in a span that warrants consideration for being on the franchise’s all-time Mount Rushmore list.
“During the predraft process, visiting with them (the Patriots) was probably one of the worst visits of all time,” Gronkowski said. “I was tired from flying all over the country. I fell asleep in the Director of Football Operations room … I literally put my head on the table and took a nap. Coach (Bill Belichick), I think, just didn’t understand at that point that it’s called recovery, man. After that situation, some coaches asked me about the route and asked me about it. I had no idea that I was tired and hungry, which they still don’t know.x
“I just told myself. So basically, I said, ‘Throw the ball to me. I’ll take it and see what I do. They secretly wanted it. They got me. They knew they needed a little edge to get back to the Super Bowl. It’s crazy how it all worked out.”
A four-time All-Pro and five-time Pro Bowler, Gronkowski is first in Patriots history with 79 touchdowns, second with 7,861 passing yards and fifth with 521 receptions. Meanwhile, he led the NFL with 17 touchdowns in 2011, rushed for over 1,000 yards in four seasons and was the 2014 NFL Player of the Year after suffering a torn ACL in the 2013 season.
The superstar tight end won three Super Bowls with the Patriots (2014, 2016 and 2018); he was active for two of them, after Gronkowski missed the 2016 postseason with a back injury. Gronkowski had a combined 81 receptions for 1,163 yards and 12 touchdowns in 16 playoff games for the Patriots.
One could say there is a degree of “resilience” in Gronkowski’s career.
“I’m a Patriot for life. Now let’s party,” Gronkowski concluded before bringing a football to the stage.
Gronkowski would come out of retirement to play with Tom Brady on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2020-21, with Tampa Bay winning the Super Bowl in 2020.
Speaking of Brady, the NFL’s all-time passing leader will call his first Patriots game since becoming FOX’s Lead NFL Analyst in 2024 as New England hosts the Green Bay Packers on Sunday afternoon (4:25 p.m. ET on FOX).