According to several reports, the Patriots are re-negotiating the contract of tight end Rob Gronkowski. It appears nothing has been finalized just yet, and it is unclear whether the Patriots are restructuring the final two years of Gronkowski's current deal or if they are working to give him an extension.
Gronkowski, a second-round pick in 2010, is scheduled to make 540,000 this season and 575,000 in 2013, the final two years of his four-year rookie deal.
In just two seasons, Gronkowski has already solidified his position among the NFL's best tight ends. In 2011, he set records when he caught 90 passes for 1,327 yards and 17 touchdowns. He added another score on a two-yard run.
Gronkowski played Super Bowl XLVI with a badly sprained ankle he suffered in the AFC Championship Game against the Ravens. He had surgery soon after the season to repair the damage and has been seen rehabbing the injury during Patriots OTAs.
The Patriots don't often re-do rookie deals (though just last year they gave Jerod Mayo a 5-year extension before his five-year contract was set to expire at the end of the 2012 season). But it would make sense for them to either a) lock up arguably the best tight end in football with an extension or b) simply give him a raise in the final two years of his current deal in order to gain some favor and perhaps avoid a messy negotiation in two years when Gronkowski could try to set the market for players at his position.
More to come . . .