Patriots fans can thank Susan Hurley for bringing Rob Gronkowski back into the fold.
Hurley, a former Patriots cheerleader and philanthropist who died of ovarian cancer earlier this month, was revealed as the person behind Gronkowski’s one-day contract with the team.
“It was awesome,” former New England quarterback Brian Hoyer told The Post on Wednesday on behalf of DraftKings. “Obviously, Gronk retired to avoid being traded. Came back, played, won the Super Bowl, and finished his career in Tampa Bay. I think there was a big part of it because there was this woman who helped with his charitable foundation, and her last request before she passed away – she sadly passed away from cancer – was ‘I want to have Rob sign that one-day contract and retire as a Patriot.’ So he fulfilled that. It was great. Mr. Kraft was there and said a lot of great things.”
Hurley’s charitable efforts throughout New England included the former tight end’s Gronk Playground endeavor. With one of her final wishes being for Gronkowski to return to Foxborough, the future Hall of Famer put a bow on his decorated career.
“Rob is truly one of a kind. Having been there, it was my second year, his rookie year, to see him as a young player,” Hoyer said. “The thing that I love the most about Rob is the single greatest tight end to ever play the game, not just for what he did in the passing game, but because he could block like an offensive lineman. He loved it. He would be giggling while he was blocking guys and pancaking them. He was one of a kind and brought a childlike love of the game. It was tough times in New England, playing for Bill Belichick was not easy, and Rob always made it light and had a lot of fun. So well deserved by him. What an incredible career.”
Hoyer also revealed that Tom Brady, the QB1 to Hoyer’s QB2 with the Patriots, was also in attendance for Gronkowski’s contract signing.
Hoyer, who played 15 years in the league for nine different franchises, noted the Patriots were “without a doubt” the best locker room he was a part of — and he knows a thing or two about what makes a bad one.
“What you see in bad locker rooms, you see little groups forming,” Hoyer added. “Little cliques. And when things aren’t going well, instead of addressing them, that’s when those little cliques [takeover].”
While Hoyer, who also suited up for the Steelers, Cardinals, Browns, Texas, Bears, 49ers, Colts and Raiders, chose not to mention which locker room was actually the worst he was a part of, he remains miffed about Baker Mayfield not panning out in Cleveland.
“Sometimes, owners, I would say this about Cleveland and other organizations, they want to be involved. Look, it’s their team when the owner is getting involved in selecting players and deciding who should play. That’s not your expertise,” Hoyer added. “The guys you hire, you hired them because you think they are experts in their field… Sometimes you have to let them do their job. It’s like ‘Blink twice, Kevin Stefanski, if you need help.’ Like ‘Oh yeah, we selected Shedeur Sanders after we already selected Dillon Gabriel.’
“Was that the owner? We don’t know. Good organizations hire great people and let them do their job.”
