FOXBOROUGH – Inside a jam-packed media workroom at Gillette Stadium on Wednesday afternoon, Rob Gronkowski officially retired as a New England Patriot.

Gronk signed a one-day contract alongside Patriots owner Robert Kraft with Camille Kostek, Rob Ninkovich, David Andrews and Brian Hoyer looking on.

The lovable character that is Gronk spoke for about 20 minutes after thanking the Krafts and Patriots Nation. He also spoke about his friend Susan Hurley, a former Patriots cheerleader who was a staple at Patriots community events that unfortunately passed away from cancer. One of her last wishes was for Gronkowski to retire as a Patriot, which is the biggest reason everyone was gathered at Gillette on Wednesday.

Another interesting part of the day was Gronkowski’s comparison to winning teams he played on and this current Patriots squad that’s 8-2.

All eyes will be on Gillette for Thursday Night Football – another reason Gronk and the Krafts agreed to hold the ceremony on Wednesday – when the team debuts new jerseys and hopefully, makes it eight wins in a row. Gronkowski announced he’ll be the Kepper of the Light pregame and address the fans at halftime before the country band LoCash plays.

When asked for his thoughts on the job head coach Mike Vrabel is doing so far, Gronk lit up and also poked some fun at himself.

“The 2025 team is doing spectacular. I mean, they’re blowing it out of the water compared to what everyone thought they were going to be,” he said. “We all knew it was going to be a big improvement. I said at the beginning of the year – because I’m such a great analyst now guys – The Patriots were going to make the playoffs, but as a Wildcard team and they were going to come in second place in the division. But, with my great analyst skills, I think they’re going to be wrong this year.

“We’re on track to win the division, you know, knock on wood. And, on track not to just get a Wildcard seed, but to get a good seeding in the top four, which makes it a special year here.”

Gronk then pointed to one particular aspect of this year’s team that stands out to him, relative to the Super Bowl teams he was apart of.

“The one thing I really like about these Patriots, they’re not losing focus this year,” he said. “Every single week they’re getting better as a team and they’re correcting their mistakes from the prior week as well. They’re finding ways to have more explosiveness on the offense as well. I would say that’s due to Josh McDaniels.

“That’s why, being the analyst I was last year on FOX, I said ‘hey, Josh McDaniels would be a great fit here’ and they ended up hiring him. Just to see him take his guys to the next level, the guys on the offense to the next level, I would say it contributes to how good of a coach he is, how he can put the players and know his talent in the right position as well.”

A few weeks ago, Gronk sat down with Drake Maye for a FOX segment and he came away quite impressed with the newest face of the franchise.

“Yes, I did, which was very special because I got to go to RKK’s office when I came back. So, it’s the second time we get to meet again here at Gillette Stadium in the last three weeks. But, yeah, I did a sit down interview with Drake Maye, which was special,” said Gronk.

“What I really loved about him is his IQ and his intelligence for the game of football. When we were just talking football and I was asking him questions…and the way he respected the guys that came before him too. Obviously, you’re coming after Tom Brady. You’re always going to be compared to Tom Brady. But, the way he answered the questions, showed his respect, but also knew that it’s his time and he’s got to do what he’s got to do. You appreciate that type of answer. You appreciate that type of honesty and humbleness as well and he had that.

“The intelligence he had for the game of football…we were talking plays and I was saying plays that were the name of the play when I was there with McDaniels, and now the name had totally changed. He not just knew my play – the play it was named our…the terminology when it was my era – but he also knew the terminology it was for his era too. So, to know both and just know what I was doing on the play call that I said to him was just pretty impressive.

“That’s when you know he has a high football IQ and that’s what you need at the quarterback position.”

While the future is bright in Foxborough, it was certainly great to see a legend like Gronk back in the stadium he made so many countless memories in.

In fact, RKK even asked Rob if he’d sign a two-day contract to play against New York on Thursday night.

“Let’s do it. What’s the signing bonus?” Gronkowski joked, cracking up the entire room.

Gronk being Gronk.

And hopefully, the Patriots continue being the Patriots on Thursday night.

That would cement a special 48 hours at 1 Patriot Place where the past and present are on full display for the whole country to see.