Odds Favor Rob Gronkowski Returning Between Weeks 9-12

• Rob Gronkowski will begin the NFL season retired … for now
• Sportsbooks have odds on whether and when the future Hall of Famer will return
• The best bet on what Gronk will do this season

Fans have been clamoring for four-time All-Pro Rob Gronkowski to return to the football field and play for the Patriots almost immediately after he retired back in March after nine NFL seasons, but the dominant ex-Patriot insists he’s hung up the cleats.

Despite the odds still being likely that he will continue to kick his feet up and relax, not everyone is so sure about that. This has led sportsbooks to post odds on what week we could see the most dominant tight end in the last decade re-emerge for New England.

Odds When Rob Gronkowski Will Play for Patriots

*Odds taken 09/06/19

Are we so Sure Gronk Will Return?

It appears the general consensus from nearly everyone is that Gronkowski will feel the itch to return to league at some point this season despite suffering a hodgepodge of injuries throughout his career that limited him to playing a full season just twice in nine years (his first two years in the league.)

Rob Gronkowski cried yesterday when recalled the physical and mental agony that made him not want to play football anymore.

Yet a sizable portion of the coverage is, "Yeah, but will he play again?"

I'm too troubled by the first part to care about the second.

— Tim Graham (@ByTimGraham) August 28, 2019

While he’s only 30 years old, young enough for most highly skilled position players to still be effective, his body has absorbed a ton of hits since he entered the NFL at an age where he was barely legal to drink in the United States. It’s not without precedent a young star ends his career earlier than expected, with the likes of Barry Sanders, Calvin Johnson and recently Andrew Luck as examples of players who left because of the physical ailments.

A healthy Gronk is the best @robgronkowski! 💪#TheShopHBO pic.twitter.com/2kH9MecEnw

— UNINTERRUPTED (@uninterrupted) September 4, 2019

Rob Gronkowski’s Last 5 Seasons

Gronkowski Has Mused About Coming Back

The main reason the school of thought is that Gronk will come back is because he’s mused about ratcheting things up and making a return at some point – and that’s straight from the horses mouth.

Former #Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski, weighing 245 pounds, says on RapSheet + Friends it would take him a month to ramp back up. “But I could easily go out there right now.” Some great Gronk stories, plus @MikeGarafolo & @TomPelissero preview the season. https://t.co/bc3YbaWc1x

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 3, 2019

Given that he’s saying it’ll take a month to ramp it back up, that pretty well extinguishes much hope of a return weeks 1-4, which would yield the highest payout (+500). It is highly unlikely he’d be in shape and ready to contribute physically for the playoffs alone which would seem to eliminate that time frame.

https://twitter.com/Patriots/status/1128382769728385024?s=20

Weeks 5-8 would essentially mean he’d probably start working out and getting ready to rock by the end of September at the latest if he wants to play in October, which sounds a little too early for a guy who doesn’t want to suffer a lot more wear and tear.

The Best Bet on When Gronkowski Will Return

That leaves the betting favorite Weeks 9-12 (+250) and weeks 13-17 (+300), or, of course, he doesn’t come back at all. You’re getting a little more value by picking later in the regular season, so bank on the five-time Pro Bowler to return in December.

Pick: Rob Gronkowski Returns Weeks 13-17 (+300)