Tony Gonzalez has no intention of playing again

Early in the week, the Patriots were still struggling with tight-end depth, and crazy as it seemed, rumours began to circulate that NFL teams (including the Patriots) were attempting to coax 14-time Pro Bowler and future Hall of Famer Tony Gonzalez out of retirement for a final Superbowl run. Gonzalez may have brought the attention upon himself by dropping an open-ended statement last week regarding the one great shortcoming of his stellar NFL career:

ProFootballTalk:
I’ve always wanted a ring. That’s been my main goal as a player over the last 15 years of my career. You’re really trying to get that ultimate goal. But I’d be a mercenary to come in and get a Super Bowl ring, play with a team for, what, six, seven weeks? And even if I got the ring, it wouldn’t be the same as going through the fight with the team from the beginning to the end. I don’t think that will happen. The temptation will be there, but I’m 100 percent happy with my decision.

Despite prefacing his comments heavily, Gonzalez still felt the need to clear the air about the status of his retirement:




As it happens, the Patriots have recently addressed the tight-end depth to some extent, after trading for Tim Wright – who then proceeded to look the part in his pre-season debut. But we’d all be lying if we said it wouldn’t be great to see Gonzalez running the seams alongside Gronk in a Patriots uniform. Unfortunately, it looks like that door is firmly slammed shut.

Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

Follow me on Twitter @ThorntonStuart

Read more of my work here

Post a Comment
Share