![\"Robert](\"https:\/\/news2.watchtowatch.top\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Patriots.jpg\")
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The appropriate thing happened on Wednesday after\u00a0Rob Gronkowski\u00a0officially retired as a member of the New England Patriots. Fans have been pushing for it to happen since the well-loved tight end walked away from the NFL in 2022.<\/p>\n
Gronkowski signed a one-day deal with the Patriots, with team owner\u00a0Robert Kraft\u00a0in attendance.<\/p>\n
The 84-year-old Kraft even joked that they should make it a\u00a0two-day contract\u00a0so Gronkowski could suit up versus the New York Jets on Thursday at Gillette Stadium.<\/p>\n
\u201cSure, what\u2019s the signing bonus?\u201d said Gronkowski.<\/p>\n
\u201cNothing\u2019s changed,\u201d replied Kraft.<\/p>\n
The 36-year-old Gronkowski, who won three titles with the Patriots, also made an offer to Kraft before signing the ceremonial deal, eliciting laughter from the crowd.<\/p>\n
\u201cStraight cash, no taxes. I\u2019ll take a briefcase. Actually, I\u2019ll just take the plane,\u201d said the four-time All-Pro First Team member in the video posted by NFL insider Jordan Schultz.<\/p>\n
Gronkowski teamed up with\u00a0Tom Brady\u00a0and Julian Edelman to lead New England\u2019s dynastic run a decade ago. With his colorful personality and natural charm, Gronkowski was a fan favorite throughout his career. He also helped the community with his charity work.<\/p>\n
He first retired in 2019 due to the mental toll. He made a comeback in 2021 after Brady convinced him to join him on the\u00a0Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They won the Super Bowl that season, with Gronkowski scoring two touchdowns.<\/p>\n
Behind the stellar play of\u00a0Drake Maye,\u00a0the Patriots have been on a roll\u00a0this season with an 8-2 record. They are tied with the Indianapolis and the\u00a0Denver Broncos at the top of the AFC.<\/p>\n
Recent\u00a0New York Giants\u00a0running back\u00a0Matt Breida\u00a0resurfaced in the news on August 14, as it was revealed that the veteran plans to officially end his NFL career.<\/p>\n
\u201cVeteran running back Matt Breida plans to retire after seven\u00a0NFL\u00a0seasons, sources told ESPN\u2019s Jeremy Fowler on Thursday,\u201d\u00a0ESPN reported in an article\u00a0via Fowler.<\/p>\n
Adding: \u201cThe\u00a0Miami Dolphins\u00a0recently requested a workout with Breida, but he declined. Breida, 30, finishes his career with 2,652 rushing yards and nine rushing touchdowns in 98 games for the\u00a0San Francisco 49ers, Dolphins,\u00a0Buffalo Bills\u00a0and New York Giants. He also had 120 receptions for 935 yards and six touchdown catches.\u201d<\/p>\n
Breida played his last regular season game with the G-Men\u00a0in 2023, appearing in all 17 of the Giants\u2019 contests that year.<\/p>\n
Breida was a role player who chipped in on special teams and offense with Big Blue. He was well-liked and well-regarded by teammates and fans, although it was clear that his game had lost a step during that final season, as his yards per carry average plummeted from 4.1 YPC to 2.7 YPC during his second campaign with the Giants.<\/p>\n
Per ESPN, \u201cBreida spent time in training camp last year with the 49ers but was released before the season and didn\u2019t play in 2024.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Giants have undergone a clear youth movement at running back, outside of veteran\u00a0Devin Singletary. And 2025 could be his final season on the roster, considering Big Blue can\u00a0save $5.25 million\u00a0by cutting Singletary before free agency next spring.<\/p>\n
General manager Joe Schoen has practiced a relatively simple strategy at the position since taking over. Draft a running back every year, and don\u2019t overspend on the position in free agency.<\/p>\n
So far, the organization has compiled\u00a0Eric Gray,\u00a0Tyrone Tracy Jr.,\u00a0Cam Skattebo, and promising UDFA\u00a0Dante Miller\u00a0over the past three offseasons. That\u2019s not a bad haul, with Gray being the biggest disappointment of the bunch so far.<\/p>\n
Of course, it\u2019s not like Schoen is reinventing the wheel here. The majority of NFL teams have gotten away from paying running backs, utilizing the draft and the UDFA market as a way to restock and retool with fresh legs.<\/p>\n
Sometimes you hit on these rookie fliers, sometimes you don\u2019t, but the commitment is very low-risk.<\/p>\n
Breida was a low-risk veteran, in his own right, but it\u2019s a young man\u2019s position, and sadly, few RBs make it past 30 in the modern-day NFL.<\/p>\n
The Giants held a light walk-through practice ahead of their second preseason game against the\u00a0New York Jets\u00a0on August 14, but there will be no rest for the starters on Saturday, August 16.<\/p>\n
\u201c[Head coach Brian] Daboll said after playing the starters in the preseason opener, \u2018We\u2019ll do it again. We\u2019re going to play in the preseason. People that are able to play are going to play,\u2019\u201d The Athletic\u2019s\u00a0Dan Duggan relayed\u00a0on Thursday.<\/p>\n
Defense and pass rush dominated the joint practices this week, as both the Jets and Giants\u2019 defensive lines flexed their muscles throughout.<\/p>\n
According\u00a0to Duggan and colleague Charlotte Carroll\u00a0of The Athletic, the Giants appeared to sack Jets QB\u00a0Justin Fields\u00a0four times on August 13.<\/p>\n
\u201cSimilar to Tuesday, there were moments when it was hard to tell exactly who was causing problems as the Giants sent multiple bodies in the backfield,\u201d they wrote. \u201cFields, who went 7-of-11 on the day, had a few overthrows on plays that likely were sacks. Outside linebacker\u00a0Brian Burns\u00a0especially stood out, notching at least one sack.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite their success rushing the quarterback, the Giants\u2019 defense did allow Fields and the Jets to break free on a few long running plays.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The appropriate thing happened on Wednesday after\u00a0Rob Gronkowski\u00a0officially retired as a member of the New England Patriots. Fans have been pushing for it to happen since the well-loved tight end walked away…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5451,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5453","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-breaking-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t