Dan Gronkowski

Dan Gronkowski
refer to caption
Gronkowski with Denver in August 2011
No. 86, 82, 87
Position: Tight end
Personal information
Born: (1985-01-21) January 21, 1985
Amherst, New York
Height: 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Weight: 255 lb (116 kg)
Career information
High school: Williamsville (NY) North
College: Maryland
NFL Draft: 2009 / Round: 7 / Pick: 255
Career history
Career highlights and awards
  • Honorable-mention All-ACC (2008)
Career NFL statistics
Receptions: 9
Receiving yards: 69
Receiving TDs: 0
Player stats at NFL.com

Daniel Thomas Gronkowski (born January 21, 1985) is a former American football tight end. He was drafted by the Detroit Lions in the seventh round of the 2009 NFL Draft. He played college football at Maryland. He also played for the Denver Broncos, New England Patriots and Cleveland Browns.

Early years

Gronkowski was born in Amherst, New York to parents Gordon and Diane Gronkowski. His great-grandfather, Ignatius, was a member of the 1924 U.S. Olympic cycling team in Paris.[1]

Dan Gronkowski attended Williamsville North High School where he played football, baseball, basketball, and ice hockey. He was a two-year starting quarterback and a one-year starting wide receiver. As a sophomore in 2001, he set a then-school record with 539 receiving yards. During his senior year in 2003, he completed 122 of 207 passes for 1,407 yards and 16 touchdowns, all of which were school records. He was named the league offensive Most Valuable Player.[2]

He was recruited by Maryland, Arizona, Purdue, and Syracuse.[2]

College career

Gronkowski attended the University of Maryland and sat out the 2004 season as a redshirt. In 2005, he saw action in five games and made two receptions for 37 yards, including a career-long 25-yard touchdown reception from Sam Hollenbach. In 2006, he saw action in all 13 games including nine starts. He had two receptions for 11 yards. He received the George Boutselis Memorial Award for team's highest GPA. In 2007, Gronkowski played in 11 games including eight starts and caught seven passes for 66 yards. He received the team's C.P. "Lefty" McIntosh Award for public service.[2]

In 2008, he played in all 13 games and started in 12. He caught 29 passes for 287 yards and three touchdowns, including one matching his career-long 25-yard reception in 2005. He also some action on special teams and returned two kicks for eight and four yards.[3] He was named an honorable mention All-ACC player.[4]

He earned a degree in marketing and was pursuing an MBA when he was drafted. He was also in the process to be nominated as a Rhodes Scholar his final year at the University of Maryland.

Professional career

Pre-draft

Draft Countdown assessed him as the 21st-ranked tight end prospect for the 2009 NFL Draft.[5] The NFL Draft Scout ranked him the 11th out of 96 tight end prospects and projected him as a fifth or sixth round selection.[6]

Detroit Lions

Gronkowski was drafted 255th overall (2nd to last) by the Detroit Lions in the 2009 NFL Draft. On June 25, 2009, he signed a three-year $1.21 million deal, which includes a signing bonus of around $26,000.[7] He was waived on September 5, 2009 and signed to the Lions' practice squad a day later.

Gronkowski was promoted to the active roster on December 1, 2009 after tight end Brandon Pettigrew was placed on injured reserve due to a knee injury. He caught his first pass against the Baltimore Ravens on December 13. He was waived on December 17, and re-signed to Lions' practice squad on December 20.

After his practice squad contract expired, Gronkowski was signed to a future reserve contract on January 5, 2010.

Denver Broncos

He was traded to the Denver Broncos on September 4, 2010 for cornerback Alphonso Smith.[8] He was released on September 3, 2011.

New England Patriots

Gronkowski signed with the New England Patriots on September 6, 2011.[9] However, after playing in two games, he was waived on September 23. He re-signed with the team on October 10.. On November 8, 2011, Dan Gronkowski was released for a second time.

Cleveland Browns

After Browns tight end Alex Smith was placed on the Injured Reserve, the Browns signed Gronkowski to a one-year contract on December 20, 2011.[10] On August 31, 2012, he was released by the team but re-signed on January 3, 2013 to a futures deal.[11] He was released by the team again on August 30, 2013.[12]

Personal life

His father, Gordon Gronkowski, started for three years as an offensive guard at Syracuse. Dan has four brothers, all four of whom played college sports. Gordie Gronkowski Jr. played baseball as a first baseman at Jacksonville University. Chris Gronkowski received a scholarship from the University of Maryland and played there as a fullback in 2005 and 2006 before transferring to Arizona.[2] Chris was most recently a fullback for the San Diego Chargers. His brother Rob Gronkowski played college football at Arizona, and is now the starting tight end for the New England Patriots (both Dan and Rob were teammates during the 2011 season). Brother Glenn Gronkowski also played in the NFL. Gronkowski is the great-grandson of Ignatius Gronkowski who represented the United States in cycling at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, France and who held 5 world records in that sport.

Gronkowski married Brittany M. Blujus, on July 9, 2011 in Buffalo, NY.[13]

References

  1. ↑ "Rob Gronkowski - Official New England Patriots Biography". Retrieved 2010-08-16.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Player Bio: Dan Gronkowski Archived 2009-01-05 at the Wayback Machine., University of Maryland Terrapins football official website, retrieved 12 January 2009.
  3. ↑ 2008 Cumulative Season Statistics Archived October 19, 2008, at the Wayback Machine., University of Maryland Terrapins football official website, retrieved 12 January 2009.
  4. ↑ Maryland Football Places Nine on All-ACC Teams – Terps join Boston College for most all-league honorees Archived December 3, 2008, at the Wayback Machine., University of Maryland Terrapins Football official website, 1 December 2008.
  5. ↑ 2009 NFL Draft, Tight End Rankings, Draft Countdown, retrieved 12 January 2009.
  6. ↑ Dan Gronkowski, Maryland, TE, NFL Draft Scout, retrieved April 7, 2009.
  7. ↑ "Lions Sign Seventh-Rounder". Scout.com. Retrieved 2009-06-25.
  8. ↑ Klis, Mike (September 4, 2010). "Broncos trade CB Alphonso Smith to Detroit for TE Gronkowski". The Denver Post. Retrieved 2010-09-05.
  9. ↑ Walker, Monique. "Dan Gronkowski to join the Patriots". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 6 September 2011.
  10. ↑ "After McCoy concussion, NFL issues new protocol".
  11. ↑ "Browns drop one of the Brothers Gronk". profootballtalk.nbcsports.com. Retrieved 31 August 2012.
  12. ↑ "Cleveland Browns cut seven players, including six rookies and TE Dan Gronkowski".
  13. ↑ Important Occasions (1 January 2012). "Brittany M. Blujus and Daniel T. Gronkowski". Weddings. Buffalo News (New York). Retrieved 17 February 2014.
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