With a little more than a week to go before the New England Patriots kick off their 2019 season, one important absence still looms large over this franchise and its hopes of being the first team to repeat as Super Bowl champs since the Pats did it themselves in 2004 and 2005.
That absence is retired superstar tight end Rob Gronkowski, who spent the better part of the past decade proving to anyone with eyes that he was the most dominant, game-breaking offensive threat since peak Randy Moss.
Gronkowski decided to hang up his cleats in an emotional Instagram post last March.