Rob Gronkowski, in the rain, shrugs off the idea of a return

[Pat Patriot]

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Sometimes, intrepid reporters track down elusive interviews through an exhaustive process of legwork, and hundreds of phone calls.

Sometimes, they look out the window and walk across the street.

Tom Curran of NBC Sports Boston (one of the intrepidest ones we know) ran into Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski standing on a sidewalk in South Boston in the rain Sunday afternoon, and Gronkowski shook off the notion that he might come back this season.

Of course, Gronkowski was just hanging out on a sidewalk in the rain, while watching his friend Jim work out inside a gym.

“I’m into new opportunities,” Gronkowski said with a shake of the head. “I was at CVS today with Jim. Bagged all his stuff. I might do that, be a bagger. I might open a dog-walking business, be a dog-walker, I don’t know.”

Of course, the idea this should be treated as gospel is as silly as the idea of running into Rob Gronkowski standing on the sidewalk in the rain while he was watching Jim work out in a gym in South Boston on a Sunday afternoon.

The good news is, it’s still Gronkowski, as evidenced by his exploration of opportunities in the export end of the dog-walking field.

“No doubt! Get a long stick with a scooper on the end and a handle,” Gronkowski said. “I just hit the trigger and it scoops it up. Then I reach back and drop it in a big bag on my back. Put all the poop in there and empty it every once in a while! So many ideas!”

This is Rob Gronkowski in retirement. May we all be as happy as Rob Gronkowski in retirement.