The 49ers' competition in the NFC just got a bit more star-studded, as tight end Rob Gronkowski is joining Tom Brady in Tampa Bay.
The Buccaneers have acquired Gronkowski in a trade with the New England Patriots, the club announced Tuesday.
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ESPN's Adam Schefter was the first to report the terms of the trade. In exchange for Gronkowski and a seventh-round draft pick, the Patriots receive a 2020 fourth-round pick from Tampa Bay.
Earlier Tuesday, NFL Media's Ian Rapoport was the first to report that Gronkowski was interested in returning to the NFL, but as a member of the Bucs alongside Tom Brady.
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Gronkowski officially retired last March, but he still had one year remaining on his contract with New England, so the Patriots still owned his rights. As such, a trade had to be worked out between the teams in order for Gronkowski to join Brady in Tampa
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The Bucs have been stealing headlines all offseason long, and acquiring Gronkowski only further cements that fact. At his peak, he was the most dominant tight end in the history of the game. You can be sure they -- and Brady -- believe he still has something left in the tank. However, there's no guarantee that's the case.
Gronkowski hasn't played since the 2018 NFL season, in which he appeared in 13 games and caught 47 passes for 682 yards and three touchdowns. While he posted a 1,000-yard season with eight touchdowns in 2017, he was limited to just eight games and 25 receptions the season prior to that. All told, he has missed 29 regular-season games over the last four seasons combined -- if you count the entirety of last season.
Gronkowski turns 31 next month. While Rapoport reported that Gronkowski has been putting on weight in anticipation of a return to the NFL, one wonders what kind of playing shape he is in. In retirement, he has kept busy as a partner in a cannabis company and participating in professional wrestling, among other things. In fact, at the time of the trade, he is the current WWE 24/7 champion.
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The Bucs went all-in into win-now mode when they signed Brady in free agency, and bringing in his former favorite target certainly fits into that. If all goes well, Tampa Bay will be among the favorites to come out of the NFC. Then again, neither player is what they once were, and nostalgia rarely proves to be a smart personnel strategy.
The 49ers aren't scheduled to face the Bucs in 2020, so if they do face each other, it would have to be in the playoffs. It's unclear if Gronkowski has enough left in the tank to get that far, but if Tampa Bay does, he'll likely have been a big reason why.