For much of the offseason, there has been a lingering question about Rob Gronkowski’s future with the Bucs. Everyone understood that the future Hall of Fame tight end was going to take his time deciding whether or not to return for another year of football. But at the same time, the general consensus seemed to be that he would ultimately decide to come back to Tampa Bay for one more season.

Then, last week, Gronkowski announced his retirement. It was somewhat of a surprise, but everyone accepted his decision. The “will he/won’t he” saga was over… for about five minutes. Not long after the initial report about his decision and then his own confirmation of his retirement, ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweeted this:

Gronkowski’s retirement tweet came at 2:29 p.m. on June 21. Schefter’s tweet, with speculation about a return from Gronkowski’s agent Drew Rosenhaus, dropped two minutes later. So, with that, the speculation will only continue. The long-running theory was that Gronkowski would sign with the Bucs just before training camp begins in July. Now, there are theories about him skipping training camp and signing after. Others think he might re-join the Bucs during the season. And some even seem to think it might be possible that he comes back for a playoff run.

Of course, no one could be blamed for thinking that Gronkowski doesn’t come back at all. He did, after all, announce his retirement. Tom Brady’s retirement and eventual return 40 days later has conditioned everyone to expect the same with his longtime teammate. But it’s fair to think that this time, Gronkowski is truly done with football. It is his second retirement, as he took a year off in 2019 before making a comeback in 2020 with Brady and the Bucs. This time, though, it might be different. At least, that’s what former teammate Rob Ninkovich thinks.

Ninkovich: ‘I Think This Is More Permanent.’

Speaking about Gronkowski’s retirement on ESPN’s Get Up last week, Ninkovich pointed out a variety of reasons as to why this could really be the end of the line for the legendary tight end.

Bucs TE Rob Gronkowski – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

“I think this is more permanent – I don’t see Rob coming back, I really don’t. I think at this point, this is a different feel as opposed to the last time he retired,” Ninkovich said. “There was a lot of things going on. He wasn’t feeling great. He took a year off, he came back [and] he won another Super Bowl playing with Tom Brady. And think of it this way. Rob has accomplished more than any other tight end in history. And Rob has done more in his career than anyone else in history. Literally, he’s the greatest tight end of all time. So, with those four Super Bowl rings, with everything that he’s accomplished, he doesn’t have to continue to play.

“His body, he’s already been through it. He’s had the surgeries. He’s done everything that you could possibly think of. The spiking and all the great touchdown catches and all the celebration. On the flip side of that, he’s also dealing with things, he’s had to have a bunch of surgeries. He’s had his back worked on. He’s had his knee done, he’s had his ankle done [and] he’s had a lot of things off the field that you don’t see as a fan. So, I really do think that Rob is going to walk away. And I don’t see him coming back.”

While all of those thoughts are 100% valid, that’s not going to stop the speculation. Just a few days after Ninkovich said he can’t see it happening, former NFL executive Mike Tannenbaum had the exact opposite opinion on the very same show.

Tannenbaum: ‘100%’ Gronkowski Returns To Bucs

It doesn’t feel like a stretch to say that the majority of football fans and media members are on the side of expecting another return from retirement for Gronkowski. On Monday’s edition of ESPN’s Get Up, Tannenbaum explained why he has no doubt that the 11-year veteran will once again be a Buc.

Bucs TE Rob Gronkowski and QB Tom Brady – Photo by: USA Today

“100% he comes back. Tom Brady, when he says ‘G0,’ [Gronk] says ‘Yes, how fast and how high?’ Look, they don’t need Gronk for 17 games, guys,” Tannenbaum said. “They need Gronk in consequential moments. Third down, red zone, coming down the stretch. Maybe it’s 15, 20 plays a game. Jeff [Darlington] brings up a great point. A lot of veterans don’t like training camp. Gronk doesn’t need it. But we need quality plays, not quantity plays, and he could be the difference of them beating the Rams down the stretch. So, when Tom Brady says ‘Hey, Gronk. It’s time to go,’ I have no doubt in my mind he’ll be a Buccaneer.”

Tannenbaum was then asked about Brady and the Bucs potentially having to move on without Gronkowski and how that would affect their Super Bowl hopes. He took that opportunity to double down on his recent praise of Tampa Bay head coach Todd Bowles.

“I think it’s going to be really hard – I think they still have a really good team. I think an underrated storyline is Todd Bowles. I’ve worked with Todd before. He’s a great coach, not a good coach,” Tannenbaum said. “You think about a guy like Bill Belichick. Struggled in Cleveland, takes some time off, becomes a head coach again [and] the rest is history. I’m not saying Todd Bowles is going to be Bill Belichick, but why not? Why can’t he have a great second chapter as a head coach? This is a team that missed over 47 games on defense [last year]. I think this team is loaded and Gronk, down the stretch, only makes them that much better.”