Bucs' Arians: Gronkowski looks like he did '5 or 6 years ago'

A healthy Rob Gronkowski is bad news for NFL defenses.

As the Tampa Bay Buccaneers continue their first week of padded practices in training camp, head coach Bruce Arians noted that Gronkowski looked nothing like the player who temporarily retired due to lingering injuries.

"He looks to me like he was 5 or 6 years ago," Arians told reporters Thursday, according to 10 Tampa Bay's Ryan Bass. "He doesn't have a gigantic elbow brace on. He's moving, running fast again and has great body control."

The 31-year-old tight end is coming off a year away from football. The New England Patriots traded his rights to Tampa in April, reuniting him with former teammate Tom Brady.

Gronkowski added he has no regrets returning to the game and expressed excitement about his health heading into the regular season.

"I feel like I'm supposed to be here ... going out there, just playing ball, it feels good," he said, per Bass.

The three-time Super Bowl champion and four-time All-Pro selection caught 47 passes for 682 yards and three touchdowns in 13 games during his last campaign in 2018.

Copyright (C) 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.