Over the past year, Tom Brady, the All-time great Patriots and NFL player, has been inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame and received an honor no other Patriot has – a statue at Gillette Stadium. He’ll also be receiving the yellow jacket of the Pro Football Hall of Fame the first year he’s eligible. All are fitting tributes to a player who redefined greatness.

Brady was a tour de force in the NFL, but even he had to have help. Over his two decades in New England, he had help from some terrific players, though not nearly as many as he should have. Regardless, several pass-catchers stand out among the best.

They included the great Randy Moss, Troy Brown, Shane Vereen, Kevin Faulk, James White, Danny Amendola, and the inimitable Julian Edelman. Also among the very best, if not the best, was Brady’s long-time tight end, Rob Gronkowski. Both are now retired, and like Brady, Gronk wants to come home.

Rob Gronkowski says again that he wants to retire as a Patriot

The story of how the Patriots foolishly allowed Tom Brady to leave and traded Gronk is still a painful one for Patriot Nation. Foolish pride and poor decision-making precipitated these moves, among the worst errors in the history of the franchise. Owner Robert Kraft has been trying to recover from those all-time gaffes for years. (He started with his astute hiring of Mike Vrabel).

Now, it’s being reported that Gronk wants to retire as a Patriot. While it’s just a symbolic action, it speaks volumes.

CBS Sports’ Matt Geagan has written that Rob Gronkowski, the Patriots’ all-time best tight end, and more, would like to sign a one-day contract and retire as a Patriot.

“Rob Gronkowski has been retired from the NFL since 2022, and his Hall of Fame career already included one comeback. But Gronk may be making another one soon, though this one will only be last for a day so he can retire as a member of the New England Patriots…He retired from football with 719 receptions for 10,675 yards and 107 touchdowns, and was a First Team All-Pro four times, a Pro Bowler five times, and a four-time Super Bowl champion. While he won’t be adding to those stats, it sounds like another comeback — albeit a brief one — is in the cards for Gronkowski so he can retire as a member of the New England Patriots.”

Rob Gronkowski deserves to retire as a Patriot, and more

Hopefully, owner Kraft will take Gronk up on this sentiment and immediately set the wheels in motion for his “retirement”. It will be an excellent palliative for Patriot Nation that had to stomach the sight of two of their greatest heroes toiling and winning yet another Super Bowl elsewhere.

Gronk will be gleaning his Patriots red Hall of Fame jacket in the not-too-distant future, and a good preliminary will be a ceremony to ensure that his final NFL official action is in Patriots blue and silver. And there’s another action that should be implemented for him and perhaps several other of the greatest Patriots to have brought glory to the franchise founded in 1960.

That is that Gronk should also be the recipient of a statue at Gillette Stadium alongside Brady. The Yankees had their Monument Park at old Yankee Stadium, monuments in tribute to their greatest ever. Kraft should do the same with a dedicated statuary area at Gillette, and Gronk should be included.

Both Brady and Gronk will adorn the Pro Football Hall of Fame with their likenesses. Any long-time Patriot who is a Hall of Famer should also be afforded a statue at Gillette. One, like Brady and Gronk, is also the greatest player at his position in NFL history: guard John Hannah. Andre Tippett also surely qualifies.

Hopefully, Kraft will oblige. All signs point it coming to fruition now. But, in any event, Gronk’s retirement as a Patriot is a solid first step.