Tom Brady took an opportunity to throw some friendly shade in the direction of longtime teammate Rob Gronkowski while highlighting a different player as the greatest tight end in New England Patriots history.
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The interaction took place on the Fox Sports set as the panelists previewed the game between the New England Patriots and Buffalo Bills. Brady started by highlighting quarterback Drake Maye before turning his attention to Hunter Henry — and Gronkowski by extension.
"I think he's got great development being in that program," Brady said. "And just working with (offensive coordinator) Josh McDaniels for as long as I did, he knows how to develop quarterbacks, he's so good at getting guys in the right play.
"And right now, Drake Maye's playing with the greatest tight end in the history of the New England Patriots, Hunter Henry. I mean, this guys like electric."
Tom Brady, alongside Rob Gronkowski on Fox NFL Sunday: "Right now, Drake Maye's playing with the greatest tight end in the history of the New England Patriots, Hunter Henry." 🏈🎙️💀 #NFL pic.twitter.com/7fv5mIkQyh
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 5, 2025
As Brady finished that comment with a smile, the other panelists responded by repeatedly saying "Wow" and "Shots fired." Gronkowski squirmed in his seat while saying, "You got me."
This could appear to be a jab, but Brady quickly confirmed that he made the comments just to throw some friendly shade at his former teammate. "You knew I was coming back," he said while pointing.
On paper, it is clear that Gronkowski holds the title of the best tight end in team history. He spent his entire career in New England, and he put up big-time stats.
Gronkowski's 7,861 receiving yards are second in team history behind wide receiver Stanley Morgan (10,352). His 79 touchdown receptions are most in team history. Morgan is second at 67.
Gronkowski put up these numbers in 115 games while playing with Brady. It took Morgan 180 games to reach his stat line while working with a variety of quarterbacks.
Henry, for comparison, is 27th in team history in receiving yards at 2,455. He has 22 receiving touchdowns in a Patriots uniform. He is also only in his fifth season with the team.
Henry actually started his career with the Chargers. He spent five seasons in California and accumulated 2,322 yards and 21 touchdowns. He also missed one full season due to injury.
