Donte Stallworth Believes Patriots Teammates Won’t Push Rob Gronkowski To Return

The Rob Gronkowski retirement speculation continues to swirl, with the latest report suggesting that the New England Patriots star tight end will return for the 2018 season although he seriously considered hanging up his cleats.

While Gronkowski’s agents were mum on his status Wednesday at the NFL Scouting Combine, the 28-year-old said after the Patriots’ loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LII that he would consult with everyone, including his teammates, on the decision.

Patriots fans might take Gronk asking Tom Brady and Co. about retiring as a good thing, as surely his teammates don’t want him to hang it up.

But former Patriot Donte Stallworth is here to throw cold water on that. The retired wide receiver doesn’t believe the team will push Gronkowski into returning after the multitude of injuries he has suffered.

Gronkowski has had surgery on his knee, back and elbow over the course of his career, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see Gronk hang it up, especially if he was as unhappy during the 2017 season, as reports suggest.