Rob Gronkowski said he’s not sure how he’ll feel once games get underway in September, but he’s retired for now and that takes one of the most entertaining figures in recent NFL history off the board.

One of Gronkowski’s former teammates thinks there’s another tight end who can offer some of the same things that Gronkowski did. 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo played with Gronkowski in New England and now plays with George Kittle, who gives the quarterback some reminders of the Patriots great.

“There are a lot of similarities — on the field and a little bit off the field, too. George is tremendous,” Garoppolo said, via Vinnie Iyer of Sporting News. “The energy he brings every day, how he goes about his business — he’s always having fun while he’s doing it. Very similar to Gronk, they both enjoy what they do. It makes everything more enjoyable. It’s fun to be around, and it’s contagious. To have a guy like that makes our team so much closer as well as much better.”

Kittle’s personality isn’t as well known as Gronkowski’s, but there’s little doubt about his ability to make a team better on the field after his 88 catches for 1,377 yards last season. Garoppolo was missing for most of the year and the hope around the Niners will be that things get even better now that he’s back in the lineup.