Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles disclosed Friday that Gronkowski contacted the team last month about a possible return to the team, but the tight end ultimately elected to remain retired for the time being, Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times reports. "It was more of a conversation than anything else," Bowles said. "Usually, when you have to think about playing, you probably don't want to play. When it's just a discussion, I didn't think much of it at the time."

The Buccaneers aren't counting on Gronkowski resuming his playing career in 2022 after the tight end previously announced his second retirement in June, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

Gronkowski reiterated Tuesday that he has no plans to resume his playing career, ESPN's Mike Reiss reports.

Gronkowski announced his retirement Tuesday, NFL reporter Jordan Schultz reports.

Though Gronkowski remains a free agent, Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times suggests that the Buccaneers are optimistic the tight end will re-sign with the team sometime before training camp.

At this stage, Gronkowski isn't ready to commit to playing this coming season, ESPN.com and NFL.comrelay.

Gronkowski remains a candidate to return to the Buccaneers, Scott Smith of the team's official site reports.

The Bills are reportedly open to the possibility of signing Gronkowski this offseason, Tim Graham of The Athletic reports.

Gronkowski said he'd consider returning to the Buccaneers even if QB Tom Brady were to retire, Greg Auman of The Athletic reports.