It came as quite a shock when, in the immediate wake of the Patriots' Super Bowl LII loss to the Eagles, Rob Gronkowski publicly acknowledged that he was considering retirement this offseason. "I'm definitely going to look at my future" and "I'm going to sit down in the next couple of weeks and see where I'm at," he said at the time. Gronk kept us guessing for much of the offseason, with cryptic tweets, reports about his unhappiness during the 2017 season and his frustration with Bill Belichick, and then his absence at the beginning of the Patriots' offseason program.

In late April, he finally made it known that he would indeed play again in 2018. A couple months (and several skipped OTAs) later, Gronk is feeling refreshed and ready to go, he told former Patriot Willie McGinest. 

"I am refreshed," Gronkowski said. "You know after the season, long seasons, how your body can feel and everything. I just wanted to see where I was at, and see how I can get my body feeling, see if I can handle it, endure it again, and I feel like I'm super ready, man."

Gronkowski is coming off a season where he caught 69 passes for 1,084 yards and eight touchdowns. Since entering the league in 2010, he's caught 76 touchdown passes, more than anybody in the NFL in that span of time. Heading into Year 9, he is still one of the top players in the game, and likely the best overall player at his position. But he's also cognizant of how each successive year impacts his body, and is taking that into account when preparing for the upcoming season. 

"We've got another year, another training camp. Always a grind. Gotta get yourself through that," he said. "Just excited for the season, man. You know how it goes. Another year down. You know what to expect now going into year nine. You know how to do it. I kind of feel like that's always good to have in the back of your mind. You know how it goes down. You know what to do. So I'm super excited for this year."

Pats fans surely have to be excited that Gronk is ready and raring to go, and committed to playing in New England -- especially after those reports earlier this offseason. We'll see if he considers retirement again next offseason but for now, Gronk should be back on the field and dominating once again in 2018.