After watching the New England Patriots fall to 2-8, some forward-thinking fans are ready to see them keep losing and garner a top pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Rob Gronkowski isn’t one of them. The former Patriots tight end said it’s premature to discuss tanking with eight weeks left in the season.
“You can’t tank right now,” Gronkowski said Wednesday on Up & Adams. “It’s too early in the season still.”
“You can’t tank yet” – @RobGronkowski @heykayadams pic.twitter.com/tzGHGxt3rF
— Up & Adams (@UpAndAdamsShow) November 15, 2023
While a front office may be open to strategically tanking, Gronkowski pointed out that players fighting for future jobs and contracts will never want to lose. The four-time Super Bowl champion urged everyone to wait at least another month before discussing the pursuit of next year’s No. 1 or 2 pick.
“The only way you can possibly tank is if there’s two games left in the season and you are guaranteed the first pick or the second pick if you lose the final two games of the season,” Gronkowski declared. “That’s when it’s a possibility that you can think about tanking.”
Gronk’s mindset makes sense from a player’s perspective, but New England is already too far out of the playoff picture for a comeback.
The Patriots have the worst record and point differential (-97) in the AFC, and the Tennessee Titans are the conference’s only other team with more than five losses. ESPN gives them a 0.1 percent probability of reaching the postseason.
Mac Jones hasn’t looked like the long-term solution under center, and Gronkowski advised the quarterback to ask for his release and seek a fresh start. An early pick would give New England a chance to draft a high-profile replacement in Caleb Williams or Drake Maye.
Yet Gronkowski wouldn’t know anything about tanking. He never missed the playoffs in 11 seasons, and the Patriots didn’t need to bottom out when finding him in the second round or Tom Brady in the sixth.
Patriots fans might be torn on whether they should root against their team when they play the 2-8 New York Giants after a Week 11 bye.