The Green Bay Packers could be staring down a bit of a rebuild this offseason. What direction they decided to go with the roster will depend on what Aaron Rodgers decides to do. If they can convince Rodgers to stick around, they will be among the best teams in the NFL once again. If they fail to do so and he wants to move on, it will alter their plans.
Green Bay will have some salary cap issues to navigate, which will complicate them bringing in players to remain in the upper echelon of the team. One of the positions that they could use some help in will be the tight end spot.
Robert Tonyan and Marcedes Lewis are both heading into free agency. There are some cheap options with some upside that will be available in free agency that the Packers could target. However, if they are in a position to go all-in on the pursuit of a Super Bowl again, they should turn their attention to Rob Gronkowski.
With Tom Brady retiring, there is a good chance that Gronkowski will be looking to move on. Not only will he be looking to cash in as a free agent, but he likely will only want to play for a contender. He seemed content being retired until Brady was able to coax him back into playing with him on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
If Green Bay can convince Rodgers to stay, pursuing someone such as Gronkowski makes a lot of sense. Tight end is a position of need, so there is a match from that perspective. Also, there aren’t many teams that can say they are consistently in the mix for a Super Bowl like the Packers can.
In Matt LaFleur’s three years as head coach, the team has won 13 games each season. While they haven’t found the same success in the postseason, just being in the mix is sometimes good enough to convince free agents to join your team.
Gronkowski would provide a safety valve for whoever is under center in Green Bay next season. While not as dominant as during his days with the New England Patriots, Gronkowski has shown the last two seasons with the Buccaneers he still has some juice left. He was a handful for teams working up the seam and is still a dominating presence in the red zone with his size and strength.
Those are all attributes that the Packers’ offense could use more of. With Davante Adams’ future with the franchise also up in the air, Green Bay could need some sure-handed pass catchers regardless of position and there won’t be much better than Gronkowski available.
However, if the Packers go into a rebuild post-Rodgers and Adams, it is hard to imagine Gronkowski being interested in joining them. While they would still have a chance to compete in a downtrodden NFC North, they likely wouldn’t be considered serious contenders without Rodgers under center.
