AFC Notes: Gronkowski, Patriots, Bryant, Verrett

Although there turned out to be no truth to the rumors, talk of Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski being traded lit up social media on Saturday. Now Gronkowski himself has weighed in on the situation, and he isn’t too happy about all of the rumors.

Catching up with Gronkowski outside a youth football camp he was hosting, reporters asked him about the trade talk, which he immediately replied was “fake news”, according to CBS Boston. Gronkowski, who along with Tom Brady recently returned to the team for mandatory minicamp after skipping OTAs, said “it’s wild” how fast rumors like that could spread, and that he “didn’t even know about it until last night”, saying he’s heard nothing from the team about a potential trade.

Here’s more from around the AFC:

• Dez Bryant is still available, but the Patriots are one team that likely won’t be signing him, according to Mike Reiss of ESPN. Reiss writes “I don’t see the Patriots signing Dez Bryant” even “in the wake of Julian Edelman appealing his four-game suspension.” Although the Patriots have a history of taking chances on veteran receivers, Reiss notes the Patriots have plenty of in-house options to help replace Edelman.
• Chargers  cornerback Jason Verrett has been dominant when on the field since entering the league as a first round pick back in 2014, but has struggled to stay healthy. He’s played in just 25 of a possible 64 games since he was drafted. Despite the lengthy injury history the Chargers picked up his fifth-year option last year, and are apparently “counting on” Verrett to contribute, according to Eric Williams of ESPN. Verrett will earn $8.5MM this season under the fifth-year option, and if he plays well and shows he can stay healthy in 2018, he should be in line for a big payday in free agency.
• In case you missed it, check out this recap of each AFC East team’s offseason and vote in our poll for who you think did the best this spring.