Report: Gronkowski trade talks included Lions, Texans, at least 2 others
Rob Gronkowski attended the New England Patriots' mandatory minicamp earlier this month and seemingly brought an end to an offseason filled with rumors of retirement or a possible trade.
The MMQB's Albert Breer appeared on Monday's edition of "The Herd With Colin Cowherd" and addressed just how far those rumored trade talks may have gone.
"I don't think they were shopping Gronk to the entire league, but there were some teams they trust that I know they talked to. Detroit, Tennessee, Houston, San Francisco - you guys can make the connections there," Breer said.
The connections include Lions general manager Bob Quinn and head coach Matt Patricia, who previously worked for the Patriots. New Titans head coach Mike Vrabel is a former Patriots linebacker, Texans head coach Bill O'Brien is a former Patriots offensive coordinator, and 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo was acquired from New England during last season.
The Patriots had grown weary of Gronkowski's level of commitment to the team, according to Breer, but a sit-down conversation with head coach Bill Belichick apparently resolved any potential issues.
"Bill has Gronk in, and at that point, Bill had some discussions about trading him and Gronk sat down with Bill and all indications I got was that Gronk basically affirmed to Bill he wants to be a Patriot. That's when they decided 'OK, we're gonna try to work out contract terms and go forward with this thing,' but there was a come-to-Jesus moment," Breer added.
The two sides have reportedly been working on a new contract that could see Gronkowski receive a raise from his current contract that's set to pay him up to $9 million in 2018 and up to $10 million in 2019, according to Spotrac.
Related - Report: Gronkowski extension likely, but not imminent
With h/t to NESN
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