Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end Rob Gronkowski still believes in the possibility of an NFL comeback by longtime former New England Patriots teammate Julian Edelman, despite Edelman publicly denying any chance of returning since his initial retirement announcement.

During a recent appearance on the ESPN program #Greeny, Gronkowski said he believes Edelman, who announced his NFL retirement after a failed physical in April, will return once he "truly heals up."

“I believe, you know, if Julian truly heals up and whatever’s hurting on him and he fully heals and feels good, I think he’ll be back," Gronkowski said. "I don’t see why he wouldn’t be back eventually in the future, maybe a year or two away. Lemme tell ya, he’s just a competitor. I say if he heals up 100%, feels good, I think he’ll be back in the NFL. I don’t know what team, I don’t know where, but I think he’s going to at least take this year off. He’s got a lot going on and he’ll be back, I think, if he heals up 100%.”

Last month, TMZ shared a video of Gronkowski at LAX and asked the four-time Super Bowl champion of the chances Edelman could join him and Brady as a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers next season.

“69 percent chance,” Gronkowski responded, referencing his favorite number.

The tight end was then asked why that number specifically.

“You asked if there’s a chance. I gave you a number,” Gronkowski said. "He'll be back."

The two players were teammates with the New England Patriots for nine of the wide receiver's 12 NFL seasons before Gronkowski initially announced his retirement a month after after the Patriots' last Super Bowl victory in 2019, before announcing his return to football and having his rights traded by the Patriots to the Buccaneers in April 2020.

Edelman, however, said there's no truth to rumors about a possible reunion with longtime former Patriots teammates Gronkowski and Tom Brady as a member of the Bucs next season.

"Ain't going any where Bubs #foxboroforever," Edelman tweeted in response to former NFL punter and media personality Pat McAfee in relation to a recent discussion between the wide receiver and Brady on NFL Network.

Rob Sanders

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