Eagles’ Pro Bowl G Brandon Brooks announces retirement

Three-time Pro Bowl guard and Super Bowl LII champion Brandon Brooks of the Philadelphia Eagles announced his retirement Wednesday after two injury-marred seasons.

Brooks, 32, missed the entire 2020 season with a torn Achilles tendon and played only two games in 2021 before landing on injured reserve with a pectoral strain.

“How do you say goodbye to something you’ve known your whole life,” Brooks said. “Something that taught you triumph, pain, success, failure, perseverance, love, empathy and altruism. I don’t know, but I’ll try my best. Yes, after 10 years in this game, it’s true I am retiring.”

Brooks played his first four seasons (2012-15) with the Houston Texans, who drafted him in the third round in 2012 out of Miami (Ohio).

He signed a five-year, $40 million deal with Philadelphia in free agency in March 2016. He signed a four-year, $54.2 million extension in November 2019.

Brooks made the Pro Bowl in three straight seasons with the Eagles from 2017-19 and finished his career with 114 games played (108 starts).

“I attacked my rehab with intensity and passion — I always do — but making it back this season just wasn’t in the cards,” he said. “It didn’t end the way I would have like it, but to me it’s never about the ending. It’s about the journey. I was fortunate enough to go on this journey with a group of brothers, not teammates but family.”

Bucs’ Rob Gronkowski yet to decide about 2022 season

Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end Rob Gronkowski said if he had to make an immediate decision about his football future, he’d walk away from the game again.

“If they’re like, ‘Rob, you’ve got to decide right now, right this second if you’re playing next year,’ I would say no right now,” Gronkowski, 32, told TMZ Sports. “I would be like, ‘No, I’m not playing.'”

At age 29, Gronkowski retired after nine seasons and three Super Bowl championships with the New England Patriots. He was lured back into the game by the appeal of playing again with Tom Brady when the legendary Patriots quarterback joined the Buccaneers before the 2020 season.

The two won a fourth Super Bowl together last year but fell short of the goal this season, losing to the Los Angeles Rams 30-27 on Sunday in the NFC divisional playoffs.

He acknowledged he could change his mind before the 2022 season. He told TMZ Sports that he has to get both his body and mind in sync before committing to return for a 12th NFL season.

“I just want to heal completely, see where my thoughts are from there,” Gronkowski said. “Just let things settle down — got to just heal a little bit. Fix all the bumps and bruises.”

He missed five games this season with multiple rib fractures and a punctured lung.

After the loss to the Rams, Brady said he will consult with his family and take time to decide whether to return for a 23rd season in which he’d be 45. Gronkowski said Brady’s decision will impact his.

“It will factor into the situation,” Gronkowski said. “He’s gotta do what he’s gotta do for himself and his family, no doubt about that. But then for myself, I gotta do what I gotta do, ya know, what’s best for myself, see where I’m at, how I’m feeling — all that type of stuff.”

In two seasons in Tampa, Gronkowski caught 100 passes for 1,425 yards and 13 touchdowns in 28 games.

In 143 career games, Gronkowski has 621 receptions for 9,286 yards with 92 touchdowns. He has been selected as a first-team All-Pro four times and ranks third all-time in TDs among tight ends.

NFL divisional playoffs draw record TV ratings

The NFL’s divisional playoffs delivered great drama and record TV ratings last weekend.

The divisional-round games averaged 38.2 million viewers — the highest average for the round on record — the league announced on Tuesday. That viewership marked a 21 percent increase from last season.

Saturday night’s San Francisco-Green Bay Packers NFC game on Fox, a 13-10 49ers win decided by Robbie Gould’s 45-yard field goal on the game’s final play, drew 36.9 million viewers. The game was the most-watched TV show on a Saturday night in 28 years, dating to the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway.

The Kansas City Chiefs’ dramatic 42-36 overtime AFC win over the Buffalo Bills on Sunday night on CBS drew an average 42.7 million viewers. It was the most-watched divisional playoff game in five years, with viewership peaking at 51.7 million viewers at the thrilling finish.

The Los Angeles Rams’ 30-27 NFC victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Sunday on NBC drew 38.1 million viewers. It was the network’s most-watched game since in 2006, excluding Super Bowls.

The Cincinnati Bengals’ 19-16 AFC win over the Tennessee Titans, decided by Evan McPherson’s 52-yard field goal as time expired, Saturday on CBS averaged 30.8 million viewers.

Giants conduct second interview with Bills OC Brian Daboll

Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll had a second interview for the New York Giants’ vacant head coaching position, the Giants said Tuesday.

Daboll is the first candidate that far along in the process for New York. The Giants have conducted initial interviews with Bills defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier, Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn and Cincinnati Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo.

The Giants said Daboll spent the day at their training center in East Rutherford, N.J., after they previously interviewed him via videoconference while the Bills were still alive in the NFL playoffs.

The Bills were eliminated in a 42-36 overtime loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday night.

Daboll, 46, has been Buffalo’s offensive coordinator since 2018. In 2021, the Bills ranked third in the league in scoring offense (28.4 points per game) and fifth in total offense (381.9 yards per game).

The Giants last week hired former Buffalo assistant general manager Joe Schoen as their new general manager, replacing the retired Dave Gettleman.