National Football League

Rob Gronkowski: Tom Brady 'is going to be ready to go next year'

Updated Jan. 22, 2023 4:31 p.m. ET

Nobody is sure what is next for Tom Brady — maybe not even Tom Brady, according to Brady's longtime friend and former teammate Rob Gronkowski on FOX NFL Sunday.

"I don't even think Tom knows what his future holds right now," Gronkowski said before Saturday's Giants-Eagles divisional round playoff game on FOX.

Rob Gronkowski speaks on Tom Brady's future

Rob Gronkowski joined the "FOX NFL Sunday" crew and discussed where Tom Brady might play next season.

Gronkowski is, however, convinced that Brady will return to the NFL next season, pointing out that Brady still finished top-5 in the NFL in passing yards in the 2022 season even though the Tampa Bay Buccaneers finished just 8-9 — the first time a team finished with a winning percentage below .500 with Brady as its quarterback.

"He can still play the game," Gronkowski said. "He's getting some treatment on his arm as we speak, so he's going to be ready to go next year."

Brady is set to be a free agent at the start of the NFL's new league year for just the second time in his 23-year professional career after spending the past three seasons with the Buccaneers. Several of Brady's Bucs teammates reportedly believe Brady is done playing in Tampa Bay following the team's season-ending playoff loss to the Dallas Cowboys in the wild-card round.

Buccaneers want Tom Brady back; Raiders & 49ers among teams interested

Reports have tied Tom Brady to signing with the Las Vegas Raiders, Tennessee Titans and San Francisco 49ers in free agency this offseason.

Gronkowski, who won three Super Bowls with Brady on the New England Patriots before coming out of retirement to play with Brady in Tampa Bay and win another Super Bowl there, listed a very simple criteria for where Brady might decide to go next.

"It's gonna be whatever situation intrigues him the most," Gronkowski said. "Whatever opportunity that makes him the most excited to play the game of football, that's where he will be next year."

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