Los Angeles Chargers: How much is Rob Gronkowski worth in a trade?

The Los Angeles Chargers need a tight end. The New England Patriots might have one to offer in Rob Gronkowski. How much is Gronk exactly worth, though?

The Rob Gronkowski saga in New England has been interesting to watch from the outside. Will he retire? Will Bill Belichick trade him knowing that his future is insecure? Whatever the case may be, the Los Angeles Chargers should be there to listen to any offers.

For what it is worth, it does not currently look like the Patriots are ready to part ways with Gronkowski. Patriots owner Bob Kraft called the trade rumors “hogwash”. However, reports still surfaced after Kraft’s comments that the Patriots did take phone calls to trade Gronkowski before the 2018 NFL Draft.

Now that the NFL Draft is over, the trade package for Gronkowski is harder to pinpoint. Like with prospects in the MLB, draft picks are the coveted trade chips that teams use to make business happen.

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The Los Angeles Chargers certainly need a tight end with Hunter Henry likely missing the entire season with a torn ACL. Los Angeles finally boasts a Super Bowl-caliber roster, and with a relatively small window, may be inclined to capitalize on that window while the team still can.

However, Gronkowski has question marks around him that hurt his trade value. Nobody besides Rob Gronkowski really knows how much longer he is going to play in the league. He is under team control for two more seasons but that is not a guarantee.

Plus, Gronkowski does not have the most positive history with staying healthy. Gronkowski has not played all 16 games in an NFL season since 2011.

Yet still, the polarizing factor about Gronkowski seemingly makes this trade worth it for the Chargers. If I am general manager Tom Telesco, this is the absolute max I would trade to the Patriots for Gronkowski.

This is a decent return for the New England Patriots but does not sacrifice much for the Los Angeles Chargers.

Second-year receiver Mike Williams is ready to take that next step into the receiving corp which makes it possible to trade Benjamin. As good as Benjamin is, the Chargers would benefit more from trading him than running him as the fourth receiver on the depth chart.

Throw in a first and sixth-round pick and the Patriots are getting some nice assets in return. However, to help their own cause, the Chargers should try and get the Patriots’ second-round pick out of them. With both their own and the Bears pick in the second round, and now the Chargers’ in the first, this becomes an easier pick to part ways with.

Would I still do this trade without the second-round pick? Probably. As important as draft picks are, sacrificing a first-round pick for the right package is not as terrible as many make it out to be. It has worked out for the Los Angeles Rams, who haven’t had a first-round pick in the last two drafts.

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That is the absolute furthest I would go, though and is the proper evaluation for Rob Gronkowski. While it may be unlikely, wouldn’t it be something to be Gronk on the Los Angeles Chargers?

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