Gronkowski respects Charger's Gates

Benny Sieu/USA Today Sports

As the Patriots prepare for the Chargers this week Rob Gronkowski will be using this opportunity to talk to future hall of fame tight end Antonio Gates. What does Gronk want to talk to Gates about? How to have a long career at their respective positions. Gronkowski earlier this week commented on Gates saying:

Whenever you see a tight end at that caliber playing every single week going out there and making a huge impact and making huge plays and looking like he’s in his early 20s still it’s unbelievable... Obviously, he knows what he’s doing and he’s a player to look up to no doubt about that. It would be cool to talk to him and learn what he’s done to keep playing at that high level. I definitely look up to him.

Gates was asked about his thoughts on Gronkowski taking big hits stating:

I’m a firm believer in being physical... But then there are unnecessary hits you don’t have to take. Some people think you can’t be physical and not have aggression. We talk about having aggression, but still staying fundamentally sound. What that means is you go out, play hard, and be physical, but still play smart at the same time.

I think that’s what maybe [Gronkowski] has added to his repertoire this year. Or that’s something that maybe the majority of young guys need to understand. It’s a very physical game. It’s not like college. These guys are getting paid millions of dollars to come out and play and you have to take care of yourself. You have to take care of yourself.

As a Patriots fan I love the idea of Gronkowski taking it a little more easy on the big hits. The past two years Gronk has had season ending injuries which may have cost the Patriots a chance at another Super Bowl championship. If Gronkowski follows Gates's example we could see a Gronk spike this February in Arizona.

Do you think Gronkowski takes too many big hits? Let us know in the comments section. Also, here is some Gronkowski highlights for you.