Gronk Will Not Be the Answer in Tampa

I teased it yesterday, and here I am today to talk about the Gronk trade to the Buccaneers.

This was inevitable the moment Tom Brady simply mentioned how nice it would be to play with Gronk again. Once he said that it was a forgone conclusion that the Bucs front office and Bruce Arians were going to do whatever they needed to get Gronk. Never mind the fact that they have a younger tight end they drafted two years ago. I know that OJ Howard hasn't totally lived up to the hype yet, but this upcoming year will only be his third in the NFL. Now he will be traded, or simply let go. That is a shame.

Look, I think most people know how I feel about Gronk. I do not like him. He is a frat boy, a douche, a party animal, a phony and if he was with any other team during his height, and was not a white person, people wouldn't love him the way they do. Say he played for a team like the Dolphins or Jets or Raiders, he is basically a nobody. Change his ethnicity, he would be viewed very differently by major media outlets. I don't like putting that out there, but it is, unfortunately, true. And now he is coming in to take a younger kid's job just because his buddy wants the team to.

Also, I don't think this is going to be as great as other outlets are proclaiming. I have already gone on the site and said that I don't like the fit with Brady in Tampa. I know Arians has done wonders with older QB's, but those QB's had big arms. I think Brady is the best QB to ever play in the NFL, but arm strength has never been his thing. He has always been a quick slant, diagnose the defense quick and make the right, shorter throw. That is how he destroys other teams. The only guy on the current Bucs roster that is fit for that is Gronk. But, Gronk has been away for an entire year, he has had multiple concussions, he may not play an entire year, if the NFL has a full year, and he has lost a ton of weight. He also went on this weird speaking tour where he talked about the dangers of the NFL. But, since his "bro" is in a city like Tampa, I guess he figures why not.

Actually, the more I write about it, I feel like Tampa is a fitting spot for Gronk's personality. But you don't win games with a "fun" personality. I actually think this trade, and the signing of Brady, is going to hurt Chris Godwin and Mike Evans. They are two of the better deep threats in the league, but just look at Brady last season, or even the season before. Last year he was not great. Maybe it was because he already knew he was leaving, maybe it was because the offense wasn't as talented or maybe it was because Brady is 42 years old. He is an old man in NFL terms. And as we have seen over and over and over again, when guys hit 40, they regress. Even the year before, when they beat the Rams in the Super Bowl, it wasn't because of Brady. He had an awful game. It was their defense, and how green that Rams team was. And Todd Gurley was very hurt. With this new addition, I am stunned at how the media is treating this. I don't want to put this out there, but does everyone remember after the Odell Beckham trade last off season how great that was going to make the Browns? Every major media outlet had them as a 10 plus win team, a favorite in the AFC and a lock to make the playoffs. How did that work out? And that team is much younger than this current Bucs team. And they have a better defense, even though they struggled mightily last year.

I don't know, maybe I am just a hater, but I don't think acquiring Gronk pushes the Bucs to the best in the NFC. I don't even think it makes them the best team in their division. I think the Bucs right now are champs on paper, but they will have to go out and play, and it will be tough sledding. This trade is so unimportant to me. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.