Tom Brady is the undisputed greatest of all time when it comes to football. The debate was over years ago, but the advantage was pushed that much further after Brady came to the Bucs and won Super Bowl LV. So when the GOAT lists his own greatest players of all time, it definitely holds weight – even if it’s about his favorite teammate Rob Gronkowski.

At the tight end position, the debate for the greatest of all time comes down to Gronkowski and Tony Gonzalez. While Gonzalez has more statistical accolades, Gronkowski’s dominance when healthy was unparalleled. In addition, the Bucs tight end has a lot of Super Bowl rings as well. Recently, Gronkowski has said he’d like to break Gonzalez’s record of most 100-yard games by a tight end.

When asked by the media about his longtime teammate, Brady went out of his way to call Gronkowski the greatest tight end of all time. Sure, there’s some bias to it, but that doesn’t mean it’s not true.

“I’m just happy that he wanted to come out of retirement,” Brady said. “Playing together with him is awesome for me. When I chose the Bucs, I wasn’t sure if he was going to come out of retirement or play. But it’s been amazing to watch him perform. He’s obviously the greatest tight end to ever play the game. And he’s still doing it. I think his ability to block in the run game, run routes in the passing game, win against smaller players. And then he’s very clutch. He comes up big in the biggest moments.”

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

While Gronkowski went on a great run towards the end of last season, which included two touchdowns in the Bucs’ Super Bowl LV win, he’s been even better this year. When in the lineup, Gronkowski has been back to his dominant self.

Although a nasty rib injury sidelined Gronkowski for six games, he’s still managed to record 436 receiving yards and six touchdowns. That’s only 187 yards and one touchdown less than his 16-game numbers last season. And the All-Pro still has five games to surpass that number.

Gronkowski hasn’t thought much about where he’s gone in two seasons here. He’s taking a game-by-game approach to it.

“We’re always striving for success,” Gronkowski said. “Striving for greatness. Striving to be on the same page, to win. That’s all you could really ask for. It was kind of up there on how it was going to go. Some days I [would think] it was going to go great and some days were not so great. But I just know if you keep on working, keep on going day in and day out, things are going to turn. Even if they’re not going great. If they are going great, just keep working too, and things will stay on the positive side.”