Pat Patriot
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- Mar 19, 2019
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Patriots owner Robert Kraft remains center stage at the NFL owners meetings, but there is no doubt Rob Gronkowski‘s retirement announcement Sunday night took at least some of the attention from Kraft. Tom Curran of NBC Sports Boston called the tight end’s Instagram post “exquisitely timed,” adding “it couldn’t have been any better if the Patriots planned it.”
The Patriots, though, insisted to Curren they had nothing to do with the timing of Gronkowski’s decision.
“No,” Patriots VP of Media Relations Stacy James answered Monday when asked whether it was planned.
Kraft was on his way to Phoenix for the meetings when Gronkowski called to tell the owner he was retiring, per Curran. Kraft asked Gronkowski if he could change his mind, and the All-Pro told him he was at peace with his decision.
The Patriots didn’t know Gronkowski was going to announce himself and were in the process of working out details of when and how to release the news when Gronkowski posted to social media.