Rob Gronkowski's Contract Extended

[ViriLudant]

Well deserved for the best TE in football.

http://espn.go.com/boston/nfl/story/_/id/8025822/new-england-patriots-rob-gronkowski-agree-6-year-54-million-extension-source-says

Source: Rob Gronkowski extended

ESPN.com news services

The New England Patriots and tight end Rob Gronkowski have agreed to a six-year, $54 million extension, a league source told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter.

Gronkowski, who underwent offseason surgery on his left ankle after suffering a high ankle sprain in the AFC Championship Game against the Ravens, had 90 receptions for 1,327 yards last season.

The total set a record for most receiving yards in a season by a tight end. He set the mark in the last game of the regular season, edging the New Orleans Saints' Jimmy Graham who finished with 1,310. Kellen Winslow had held the previous record with 1,290 yards in 1980.

Gronkowski also had 17 touchdown catches last season, another record for a tight end in a season. Vernon Davis (49ers, 2009) and Antonio Gates (Chargers, 2004) had shared the record at 13.

[GoPats]

Good to see this happen... for a change. With the new additions at WR, defenses are gonna have a heck of a time figuring out who to focus on. It's amazing Gronk had the season he did considering the Patriots had virtually no outside threat at all.

[RGIII]

That is a massive contract for a tight end... and yet it still falls short of reflecting his value last season. Congrats to the Gronk, nonetheless.

[21isSuperman]

How does Welker feel about this?

It's a very well-deserved contract for Gronk though. Not a fan of him, but the man knows how to play

[Vltrophy1]

Gronks contract gives him a guaranteed $18M over 5 yrs. thats 3.6 per yr

[CR91]

not a fan. jimmy graham is better

[Dan]

That is a massive contract for a tight end... and yet it still falls short of reflecting his value last season. Congrats to the Gronk, nonetheless.

With the way the TE position is evolving, I don't think it is that massive. Gronk is worth every penny of it.

[Captain Americolt]

not a fan. jimmy graham is better

Same here. I think Jimmy Graham has more potential. But Gronk is an elite TE. Top 5 in blocking imo. The contract was added to his rookie contract, which had 1 year and 1 mil left. So basically he's on an 8 year 55 million contract. Thats a win-win for both sides. Lock up an elite TE and pay less than 7 mil a year.

[Fx Stryker]

Great move on the Patriots end. Respecting their vets.

[CR91]

Great move on the Patriots end. Respecting their vets.

respecting their vets? if that was the case they would have signed wes first

[ViriLudant]

respecting their vets? if that was the case they would have signed wes first

I thought that the contract that they offered Wes was fair for a slot receiver at his age.

[Thewholefnshow28]

Same here. I think Jimmy Graham has more potential. But Gronk is an elite TE. Top 5 in blocking imo. The contract was added to his rookie contract, which had 1 year and 1 mil left. So basically he's on an 8 year 55 million contract. Thats a win-win for both sides. Lock up an elite TE and pay less than 7 mil a year.

He may have more potential in the receiving game, but Gronk is such a more balanced TE. Gronk can still hold his own in the running game and that makes him so much more dangerous. I always felt Clark was a bit of a liability because defenses never respected him in the running game and he would get pushed around out there.

Smart move locking this guy up long term. Wes cannot fill bad because he has to know this is a business. Gronk is going to be there longer and has more upside then Wes who is an aging slot WR.

[Tony Sullivan]

Let's all remember who's throwing Gronkowski the ball. I'd say that Vernon Davis is the best TE in football. He destroys defenses with Alex Smith throwing him the ball and I've read he could be an OL if he bulked up a bit his blocking is so good.

[ViriLudant]

Let's all remember who's throwing Gronkowski the ball. I'd say that Vernon Davis is the best TE in football. He destroys defenses with Alex Smith throwing him the ball and I've read he could be an OL if he bulked up a bit his blocking is so good.

Oh, please.

Did you see Gronk play this year? There were at least 6-8 plays this season where two guys tackled Gronk... and Gronk threw them off and kept going. Davis is slightly faster, but Gronk is bigger, stronger, a better blocker, etc.

[OZOC01]

Oh, please.

Did you see Gronk play this year? There were at least 6-8 plays this season where two guys tackled Gronk... and Gronk threw them off and kept going. Davis is slightly faster, but Gronk is bigger, stronger, a better blocker, etc.

:hmm:

Gronk's 40-time: 4.68

Davis' 40-time: 4.38

Not even close...

[Tony Sullivan]

Oh, please.

Did you see Gronk play this year? There were at least 6-8 plays this season where two guys tackled Gronk... and Gronk threw them off and kept going. Davis is slightly faster, but Gronk is bigger, stronger, a better blocker, etc.

Davis is a LOT faster than Gronk, and Davis is also a LOT stronger than Gronk too, doing 10 more reps at 225 when measured before they were drafted. Davis is the better blocker too, I'm thinking you haven't watched Davis at all in his career lol.

[ViriLudant]

:hmm:

Gronk's 40-time: 4.68

Davis' 40-time: 4.38

Not even close...

Uh.

I live in the real world, where athletes actually play in pads, run on fields, etc. Not do sprints.

Watch the two on the field.

There's barely a difference.

[IndyTrav]

Davis is on my All WHAT IF team. As in, what if he was on a good team and or was properly utilized..... He's my starting TE. My starting RB is Steven Jackson.....

[Fx Stryker]

respecting their vets? if that was the case they would have signed wes first

Well like Viri said he is only a slot receiver. He may be Brady's favorite receiver, but so was Stokley at one point.

[ViriLudant]

Davis is a LOT faster than Gronk, and Davis is also a LOT stronger than Gronk too, doing 10 more reps at 225 when measured before they were drafted. Davis is the better blocker too, I'm thinking you haven't watched Davis at all in his career lol.

Yep.

That's why Gronk blew him out of the water over his first two years.

TDs:

Gronk: 27. The most by any TE over two years in NFL history.

Davis: 7.

Heck, over Davis's CAREER he's only had 35 TDs over 6 years.

And yes, Gronk is the better blocker.

[IndyTrav]

Yep.

That's why Gronk blew him out of the water over his first two years.

TDs:

Gronk: 27. The most by any TE over two years in NFL history.

Davis: 7.

Heck, over Davis's CAREER he's only had 35 TDs over 6 years.

And yes, Gronk is the better blocker.

Let's be fair to Davis here. He's not had nearly the QB or the Offense that Gronk has had. I think if the two switched places, the results would be similar, I think we could agree on that?

And Clark had 46TDs in 9 years lol. But I never thought much of Dallas......

[ViriLudant]

Let's be fair to Davis here. He's not had nearly the QB or the Offense that Gronk has had. I think if the two switched places, the results would be similar, I think we could agree on that?

And Clark had 46TDs in 9 years lol. But I never thought much of Dallas......

Well, it didn't help at all that Davis quit on his team at various times, and was benched for his bad attitude.

Gronk may be an *, but he has a brilliant football IQ.

As for Dallas, he always played at his highest level, and had seasons when he caught 100, 77, and 58 passes.

[IndyTrav]

Well, it didn't help at all that Davis quit on his team at various times, and was benched for his bad attitude.

Gronk may be an *, but he has a brilliant football IQ.

As for Dallas, he always played at his highest level, and had seasons when he caught 100, 77, and 58 passes.

I don't wanna make excuses for V Davis bc the dude did pretty much bail out on his team in his early years, and disliked Singletarys off. style....but I could see where the guy was coming from. Horrible team, and being asked to block 80% of the time didn't suit his style of play. Not an excuse, or right, just saying I could see why he felt the way he did. But those benchings proved to be the best thing for him and that team.

As for Dallas, I think he was the first "proto type" if you will. The first TE to be used in the manner in which guys like Gronk/Graham/Davis are being used now....and your seeing the difference in talent in the #s....Those guys are now getting the catches Dallas had and are doing MUCH more with them.

[bahhummbug]

How does that contract affect FAs Veteran contracts at 110% of highest paid? Could be hard for teams to sign with some of these contracts.RFA signings are going thru the roof.

[Gavin]

Two words caught my eye more then anything else-Drew RosenHaus, I hope the Patriots dont regret if he suddenly comes out and tanks for a year

[GoPats]

Watch Gronk on the right side of the line on this play. He knocks down Suggs like he's a high school player.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhamDo7F9yI

And this is one of the sickest plays I've ever seen.

You can take Vernon Davis or Graham... I'll stick with the guy who can do both parts of the job as well as anyone!

[Tony Sullivan]

Yep.

That's why Gronk blew him out of the water over his first two years.

TDs:

Gronk: 27. The most by any TE over two years in NFL history.

Davis: 7.

Heck, over Davis's CAREER he's only had 35 TDs over 6 years.

And yes, Gronk is the better blocker.

Brady had 75 TDs in the first 2 years of Gronk's career. Alex Smith has only had 68 his entire 7 year career. If we look at the last 3 seasons after Alex's shoulder injury, Davis has caught 52% of his TDs.

Also, I notice the difference in speed watching Vernon. That said, Gronkowski is by far the more prolific of the two.

[media=]

[Captain Americolt]

Put Davis in Gronk's spot and the #s will be equal to or better than what Gronk has done. Davis is on another talent level. He has a nobody for a QB compared to what Gronk has. Faster. Stronger. Very underrated blocking. Top 5 imo in terms of blocking TE's also.

[OZOC01]

Uh.

I live in the real world, where athletes actually play in pads, run on fields, etc. Not do sprints.

Watch the two on the field.

There's barely a difference.

What I posted were FACTS that disputed your claim. What you posted was a personal opinion, nothing 'real world' about it, no way to quantify it if you will. But if that makes you feel better... :hmm:

[GoPats]

What I posted were FACTS that disputed your claim. What you posted was a personal opinion, nothing 'real world' about it, no way to quantify it if you will. But if that makes you feel better... :hmm:

You posted their 40 times. Let's not pretend you're splitting the atom here.

I would bet pretty much anything that every GM in the league, given a choice, would take Gronkowski over Vernon Davis. Guys like Davis have come and gone before, and while it's true he hasn't had Brady throwing it to him, the truly great players shine anyway. Davis is an other-wordly talent but what good does that do if you never live up to your potential? Which he clearly has not throughout the course of his career. Maybe at times, but that's it.

[Superman]

You posted their 40 times. Let's not pretend you're splitting the atom here.

I would bet pretty much anything that every GM in the league, given a choice, would take Gronkowski over Vernon Davis. Guys like Davis have come and gone before, and while it's true he hasn't had Brady throwing it to him, the truly great players shine anyway. Davis is an other-wordly talent but what good does that do if you never live up to your potential? Which he clearly has not throughout the course of his career. Maybe at times, but that's it.

Whether NFL GMs would take Gronkowski over Davis is not clear, although maybe you're right. Still, I think you're being overly dismissive of the fact that Gronkowski plays with one of the best quarterbacks of all time, while Davis has caught passes from a pathetic collection of passers. He had 78 catches and 13 touchdowns in 2009, playing with Shaun Hill and Alex Smith. Not to mention all of the coaching changes. All the talk about whether he's lived up to his potential or not seems kind of unfair.

[GoPats]

Whether NFL GMs would take Gronkowski over Davis is not clear, although maybe you're right. Still, I think you're being overly dismissive of the fact that Gronkowski plays with one of the best quarterbacks of all time, while Davis has caught passes from a pathetic collection of passers. He had 78 catches and 13 touchdowns in 2009, playing with Shaun Hill and Alex Smith. Not to mention all of the coaching changes. All the talk about whether he's lived up to his potential or not seems kind of unfair.

Then wouldn't the same standards apply to every pass-catching player who's ever come into the league and play with a bunch of scrubs? Larry Fitzgerald has been massively productive with QBs not much better (if at all) than Alex Smith, right? (And yes, he did have some time with Warner... you get the idea though.)

I'm only saying, the measurables don't always tell the full story. Maybe Davis is faster and stronger. Probably is. But there's no question in my mind who the better football player is, though.

[-JJ-]

Well deserved for the best TE in football.

http://espn.go.com/b...ion-source-says

Source: Rob Gronkowski extended

Well we expected to sign him. Not a bad price either.

However imo to complete the deal you gotta sign the other one,Hernadez. It was the two on the field that made it so deadly. And I gotta feeling the won't pay big for two TEs.

[-JJ-]

. But there's no question in my mind who the better football player is, though.

That's kinda of the key here. There's his biggest attribute.... not that the other ones are shabby lol. Its just in his blood and he's said as much. Football player:)

[-JJ-]

What I posted were FACTS that disputed your claim. What you posted was a personal opinion, nothing 'real world' about it, no way to quantify it if you will. But if that makes you feel better... :hmm:

Some opinions are greater that the sum total of facts....depending on who's giving the opinion of course:)

[Superman]

Then wouldn't the same standards apply to every pass-catching player who's ever come into the league and play with a bunch of scrubs? Larry Fitzgerald has been massively productive with QBs not much better (if at all) than Alex Smith, right? (And yes, he did have some time with Warner... you get the idea though.)

Are we comparing Larry Fitzgerald to someone who played with a really good quarterback every year? We're talking about one of the absolute best players in the NFL, at any position. And he plays a position that's used at a high level in every NFL offense.

(And, as you mention, Fitzgerald did play with Warner, and those were his most productive years. He went from 13 touchdowns in 2009 to 6 in 2010, less than half.)

With Gronkowski vs. Davis, you're taking a player who played with a terrific quarterback, and you're comparing his production to a player at the same position who has always played with bad quarterbacks, whose coaching staff has changed several times since he's been in the league, and who sometimes has played for offensive coordinators who don't highlight the use of a tight end.

It's different. Reggie Wayne is a 100 catch, 1200 yard receiver with a good quarterback. With bad quarterbacks, 75 and 960.

Gronkowski just had a record setting year, so I'm not trying to take anything away from him at all. But I think if you put him in San Francisco, he doesn't have anywhere near the same kind of production. So if his numbers would suffer, what impact does the situation have on Vernon Davis? Surely there's an impact, right?

I'm only saying, the measurables don't always tell the full story. Maybe Davis is faster and stronger. Probably is. But there's no question in my mind who the better football player is, though.

No, obviously they don't. I agree fully. But I think you're being overly critical of Davis' production, and without giving proper recognition to the fact that Tom Brady is a hundred times the quarterback Alex Smith is. And Davis has shown that he can put up numbers with a bad quarterback. Maybe he wouldn't have 27 touchdowns over the last two years if he were with the Pats, but I'm pretty certain his numbers would be a lot better than they have been.

[Gavin]

You posted their 40 times. Let's not pretend you're splitting the atom here.

I would bet pretty much anything that every GM in the league, given a choice, would take Gronkowski over Vernon Davis. Guys like Davis have come and gone before, and while it's true he hasn't had Brady throwing it to him, the truly great players shine anyway. Davis is an other-wordly talent but what good does that do if you never live up to your potential? Which he clearly has not throughout the course of his career. Maybe at times, but that's it.

"the truly great players shine anyway", by that logic your saying Reggie Wayne isnt that good because he didnt make Curtis Painter look good or Jerry Rice wasn't good because he had a revolving door of quarterbacks throwing to him in Oakland,

[Yehoodi]

Are we comparing Larry Fitzgerald to someone who played with a really good quarterback every year? We're talking about one of the absolute best players in the NFL, at any position. And he plays a position that's used at a high level in every NFL offense.

(And, as you mention, Fitzgerald did play with Warner, and those were his most productive years. He went from 13 touchdowns in 2009 to 6 in 2010, less than half.)

With Gronkowski vs. Davis, you're taking a player who played with a terrific quarterback, and you're comparing his production to a player at the same position who has always played with bad quarterbacks, whose coaching staff has changed several times since he's been in the league, and who sometimes has played for offensive coordinators who don't highlight the use of a tight end.

It's different. Reggie Wayne is a 100 catch, 1200 yard receiver with a good quarterback. With bad quarterbacks, 75 and 960.

Gronkowski just had a record setting year, so I'm not trying to take anything away from him at all. But I think if you put him in San Francisco, he doesn't have anywhere near the same kind of production. So if his numbers would suffer, what impact does the situation have on Vernon Davis? Surely there's an impact, right?

No, obviously they don't. I agree fully. But I think you're being overly critical of Davis' production, and without giving proper recognition to the fact that Tom Brady is a hundred times the quarterback Alex Smith is. And Davis has shown that he can put up numbers with a bad quarterback. Maybe he wouldn't have 27 touchdowns over the last two years if he were with the Pats, but I'm pretty certain his numbers would be a lot better than they have been.

I think most of you know that I am not overally awed by stats and if the stats are directly related to production or quality. . . . one needs to looks at the stats and take a step back and analzye what they might mean . . . yards and TDs a nice first step to determine if someone is good, but one must look at the stats and how it is created and the factors that go into it and see if one can come to some kind of adjusted factor be able to compare the two players . . .

yes some of you have identified the quality of the QB as one factor . . . but there are more factors . .. is the person part of the offense? . . . is the offense geared towards that player? (and thus he'll have more opportunities to get numbers) . . . does that player have more opportunities to get the good numbers? (say for example most of the red zone offense runs through one player while the offense between the 20s runs through another player, the former player will get more TDs even tho the latter did "most" of the work to get the ball in the red zone) . . .

the same is kind of true with QBs, if the offense is geared towards a lot of passing plays at the 2 yard line (as opposed to a running play) then the QB will get more opportunities and likely more TDS then a QB on another teams that runs the ball more in that situation . . . (so a QB could put up say 46-50TDs as opposed to say 35-43 on another team . . . ) . . . similarly is the first look to the TE or the WR in the end zone . . .

With all of this said, I think Gronk has more factors in his favor plus he has a stronger set of teammates to keep the Ds honest . . .

However even with factoring the above factors I would take Gronk over Davis . . . we had a guy like Davis, namely Ben Watson, that was a physical speciman all worldly, etc . . . but could not pick up the offense and got numbers not that much different that Davis, well a tad less . . . but Watson was supposed to be our new Ben Coates, 1st rounder, and never panned out . . . so physical skills are not always it . . . man I wish Watson panned out like Gronk, can u imagine the 2003-2008 Pats with Gronk . . . wow . . .

And lastly, another way to compare the two is to look at their respective college carreers and when yoyu do you will see that Gronk had a very impressive college career and holds many records at the University of Arizona, not sure if Davis put up as many school records at Maryland . . .

And also do we should not go so hard on Smith, after all had he been as bad as some have said the 49ers would have pursued Manning as opposed to merely "evaluating" him :evil: j/k . . .

[southwest1]

Great move on the Patriots end. Respecting their vets.

My sentiments exactly Fx Stryker. WR Wes Welker should have gotten a longterm contract first as opposed to the Gronk IMO. What the bleep are the NE Patriots doing? Yes, I know Welker signed his franchise tender, but come on. Wes Welker has proven his value to NE. Lock him up first with decent money. Welker has earned it. Then, secure your fantastic TE IMO.

[OZOC01]

Some opinions are greater that the sum total of facts....depending on who's giving the opinion of course:)

Opinions are debatable, facts are not. And facts does not cease to exist simply because they are ignored...