Most of us football fans might be aware of the Gronkowski family from the four-time Super Bowl champion Rob Gronkowski. But there’s someone else in the family who made equal waves in his professional endeavor. Yes, we are talking about the third oldest, Gronk brother, Chris Gronkowski who had to prematurely end his football career after suffering multiple injuries on the gridiron.

Although Chris hung up his cleats a while back, we invited him for an EssentiallySports exclusive interview on the Dual Threat Podcast with Brandon Guttman II. We asked Gronkowski to share insights on some of the finest NFL QBs he has played with. So, Chris reminisced while remembering a story that gives us insight into the position we all love. “One thing I guess I didn’t realize about a quarterback is that he needs to know every single position on the field, offensively and defensively. So I went out there with Romo, Peyton Manning, some of the biggest names.”

But soon after, Chris realized the magnitude required to play the most important position in football. “And what I realized really quickly was if a player didn’t know what they were doing, they (quarterback) would tell them to get off the field, you know, get off the field. If you don’t know what you’re doing, learn the playbook.” Well, as fans of the game, we are well-versed in the role QB plays on the field, so to have such expectations isn’t surprising.  

However, while on the subject of QB, Chris decided to share with us an unknown side of the former two-time Super Bowl Champion with whom he shared the locker room at Colts. “I guess one of the funny things or different things that I’ve seen some of the guys do, one of my favorite stories, is just Peyton Manning on away trips. His favorite thing was to pick up the mic. He would say, hey, your captain’s here.” 

As vocal on the field, Manning had a similar energy while traveling with the team, where he would address himself as the leader we all knew. Adding insights from the story, Chris told us how “Everyone would think it was the captain of the airplane. And he’d be like, no, it’s captain of the football team on the mic. And so he would just start really just funny comments about the game, calling guys out for different plays, giving respect to certain guys for certain plays.”

Even though Manning had a legendary NFL career, he never shied away from appreciating the efforts players put into their games. But Chris didn’t stop there, as he shared with us the feel of those away trips where Manning used to pick up the mic, “And it was just always that moment on away games where, you know, if you won the game, you know, at some point, he was going to pick up the mic, and he was just going to start dropping bombs on it. So, I always loved winning on the road with Peyton Manning. Yeah, for sure.”

Well, this is a funny side of Manning that we might not have known had Chris not shared the story with us on EssentiallySports Exclusive. Nonetheless, speaking on the Dual Threat podcast, Chris didn’t stop at his experience with QBs. But continued while revealing to us a pet peeve of his brother, Rob Gronkowski.

Rob Gronkowski and his pet peeve

Although Rob was mostly known for his humble nature, Chris had a pet peeve with the four-time Super Bowl winner. Sharing about Gronk with us, Chris said, “The pet peeve with him is, you literally can’t go anywhere with him. People nonstop come up, and you get absolutely nothing done.” Well, as fans of the NFL, it would be wrong for Gronk to assume that we would stay calm after seeing the TE in front of our eyes.

Even though he didn’t like it, his performances on the field have fueled his popularity. From sharing the gridiron with NFL Goat Tom Brady to winning all four rings, the duo used to terrorize defenses every week. So, whenever the fans or paparazzi heard Gronk’s presence somewhere, they used to rush to catch his glimpse beyond the TE we knew. However, Chris also added how the fame and money that came with it never changed Rob.

Reminiscing those early days of Rob’s career, Chris expressed, “He’s just never changed… Money never really changed him.” Like Rob still used to snag extra food from the facility to save a few bucks. Well, hearing from the older brother, we can’t help but agree with the person Rob is, whether it’s on the field scoring touchdowns or staying down to earth off the field.

Catching up with EssentiallySports Exclusive Interview would help you connect with NFL players and the stories they shared off the field. With Chris Gronkowski offering us a sneak peek at Peyton Manning’s NFL career and his Super Bowl champion brother. There is more to come from other pro athletes in the coming days. So stay tuned and keep watching our episodes on our official YouTube channel, Dual Threat Show.