Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski is making a return to football on Sundays, but not in the way that New England’s fans would hope. He’s headed to Fox to appear as an analyst on the “NFL Sunday” show.

There was some speculation that Gronkowski would return to the NFL to play for the Patriots in 2019. That speculation heightened when New England parted ways with tight end Ben Watson this week. This TV position likely doesn’t exclude Gronk from coming out of retirement. (Cowboys tight end Jason Witten returned to football after spending a season as an ESPN analyst for “Monday Night Football.”) But it certainly shows Gronkowski’s job interests in football extend beyond playing the game.

Former #Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski is coming to a TV near you: Sources tell me and @MikeGarafolo that Gronk has been hired by FOX to appear as a regular analyst for FOX NFL Sunday. A dynamic role for future Hall of Famer. — Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 8, 2019

Gronk’s big personality seemed likely to lend itself to a job in media. It seemed possible that he would try to make the transition into movies or television, much like Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. There was some thought that Gronk might even go into pro wrestling.

But this transition seems like a natural one. Even if he doesn’t always show it, Gronkowski’s aptitude for the game has long been a topic of conversation in New England.

“Rob is a versatile athlete, but he’s also a versatile guy mentally,” Patriots coach Bill Belichick told Sports Illustrated in 2016. He can handle a lot of different assignments. Some guys can’t. Either they mentally can’t do it, or it’s just too much and their game slows down. They don’t play to the same skill set you see athletically, because they’re thinking too much. That’s not the case with Rob.”