Bill Belichick Responds to Rob Gronkowski's Retirement Comments After Super Bowl

New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick suggested people shouldn't jump to conclusions regarding the possibility tight end Rob Gronkowski could retire following Sunday's Super Bowl loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. 

"At the end of every season, every person goes through somewhat of a process at the end of the season and then the following season," Belichick said on a conference call, via Ryan Hannable of WEEI. "I think everyone that is involved in a NFL season, you get pretty drained especially after a season like this. [You] go through the end-of-the-year process. The following year is the following year. It's the same for everybody."

Belichick's comments come after Gronkowski didn't commit to playing in 2018 on Sunday and said he would take the necessary time to reflect on his future, per Henry McKenna of USA Today:

Belichick stressed the notion immediately after a Super Bowl loss isn't the time to make significant decisions, via Hannable: "I certainly can't speak for anybody else. You'd have to ask any individual for every situation, but I would say five minutes after the game, or the day after the game is not really the time to make those decisions."

Gronkowski turns 29 years old in May and thrived during the 2017 season with 69 catches for 1,084 yards and eight touchdowns.

On the surface, he doesn't appear like a retirement candidate, although Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk tweeted before the Super Bowl, "This is 99-percent wild guess but it would not shock me at all if Gronk retires after tonight's game."

Florio further explained the one percent that wasn't a guess stemmed from the fact Gronkowski "had never been hit in the head the way he'd been hit by Jaguars safety Barry Church during the AFC title game" and that "one or more family members have been pushing him to hang it up."

Gronkowski suffered a concussion from that Church hit, preventing him from playing in the second half as the Patriots overcame a double-digit deficit to beat Jacksonville and clinch a spot in the Super Bowl.

Injuries are nothing new for the tight end, either, as he has undergone multiple back and forearm surgeries and played a mere eight games in 2016, seven games in 2013 and 11 games in 2012.

There is no doubting his talent, but the household name could theoretically turn his attention to other ventures where he wouldn't put himself at the physical risk that playing in the NFL does every week during the fall.

To hear Belichick tell it, though, there will be a better time for Gronkowski to officially decide than immediately after he tallied nine catches for 116 yards and two touchdowns in Sunday's game.