The summer of Gronk is rapidly approaching. But before Rob Gronkowski lets loose one final time this offseason, he has some important matters to attend to: video games and Deflategate.
During Gronk's SportsCenter appearance on Thursday, which served as EA Sports' Madden 17 cover announcement, he was asked about the latest developments in the Deflategate saga. According to Gronk, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady will be playing all 16 games this season, even if he's currently suspended for the first four games of the year.
Oh, and Gronk also called the latest developments in Deflategate "stupid."
"I was actually surprised. It was a surprise to everyone," Gronkowski said of Brady's suspension that was recently reinstated, according to NFL.com. "I thought it was totally done and it was crazy to see it happen again. It's kind of getting stupid to the point where it's at now. Why it's still going on now ... but I think he's going to play 16 games again. That's the way it's been going on, that's the way it's worked, so hopefully that's true."
Eventually, Gronkowski will need to adjust to life after Brady, who'll turn 39 in August (even if Brady insists he'll play until 2025). By the sound of it, Gronk's just hoping he won't need to transition to a post-Brady world this fall.
Despite Gronk's optimism, Brady's path to revoke his suspension remains rocky. At the end of last month, his suspension was reinstated by the Second Circuit United States Court of Appeals, meaning Brady is scheduled to miss games against the Cardinals, Dolphins, Texans and Bills. Brady and his legal team will now be given until May 23 to decide if they want to ask the court to rehear the case. If that fails, the case could end up in the Supreme Court.
Reminder: This entire controversy is about deflated footballs that were used in a 45-7 victory well over a year ago.