


Opposing defenders weren’t the only things Rob Gronkowski was apparently crushing during his time with the Patriots.
The former New England tight end, who is well-known for his partying ways, would often “pass out on the training tables” at the team’s facility after a night out with friends in the offseason, according to former Patriots defensive end Jake Bequette.
“We all had these key fobs that gave us 24/7 access to the Patriots’ facility there in Foxborough, and during the offseason, Gronk would go out all night with his boys in Boston. Stay up till three or four in the morning, whatever it was, and have his crew drop him off at the Patriots facility,” Bequette recently recalled on “Prime Time with Alex Stein.”
From there, Gronkowski would use the key fob to enter and eventually “pass out on the training tables in the Patriots’ training room.”
“So then, like an hour or two later when the trainers would come in to start their workday, they’d come in there and see Gronk just sprawled out on the training table, just fast asleep. They would go over there, they wouldn’t wake him up, they would roll up one of his sleeves and you know, stick an IV in his arm,” Bequette said.
Hours later, Gronkowski, now 34, “would wake up like Frankenstein revived and just go out there and kick ass,” according to Bequette, who played for the Patriots from 2012 to 2015.
As for Gronkowski, he spent nine seasons with the Patriots before retiring in March 2019.
He returned to action a year later, joining his longtime friend and quarterback, Tom Brady, with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for two seasons.
The tight end compiled an impressive resume throughout his 11-year career, winning four Super Bowls, earning four Pro Bowl selections, and finishing sixth all-time in receiving yards for a tight end.
Despite his antics during the offseason, he stayed healthy for a majority of games throughout his career, playing at least 10 games in nine out of 11 seasons.
Gronkowski previously credited partying for making him a better football player.
“Well, I’m carrying my friends, you know, throughout the bar. I’m holding them up! I’m lifting. I’m curling them! There on my back, I’m jumping up and down! I’m dancing the whole time. Kinda like Austin Butler. I’m gyrating!” he said on “The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon” earlier this year.
The former Patriots mainstay now throws an annual pre-Super Bowl bash called “Gronk Beach,” a music festival and pool party that hosts celebrities and athletes, but is also open to the public.