Patriots owner says Gronk hasn't filed retirement papers: 'There is hope'

New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft isn't convinced that Rob Gronkowski will stay retired as the team prepares to chase another Super Bowl.

"We all love Gronk and I think the bottom line is, he hasn't put his retirement papers in," Kraft told NFL Network before his Patriots faced the New York Giants on Thursday Night Football. "We can always pray and hope. ... That's a good academic argument that there is hope for us still with Gronk."

Kraft's remarks come two days after Gronkowski joined FOX Sports as an NFL analyst. The legendary tight end hung up his cleats in March after winning his third championship with the Patriots.

In his debut for the network, about an hour after Kraft spoke, Gronkowski acknowledged that a comeback isn't completely out of the cards.

"I'll always keep it open," he said. "I'll always keep the door open."

Since retiring, Gronkowski has revealed the draining effects that football had on him physically and mentally. He's also vouched for the allowance of CBD products to help players deal with pain.

"I was not in a good place," Gronkowski said in late August. "Football was bringing me down, and I didn't like it. I was losing that joy in life."

He added at the time that he was still physically capable of playing in the NFL, but was "very satisfied" with the state of his life.

While he wasn't as dominant in his final season as he had been in the past, Gronkowski came up with several clutch catches in the playoffs and remained an excellent blocker.

The 30-year-old was regarded as one of the greatest tight ends of all time when he retired after nine seasons - all with the Patriots.