Now that the New England Patriots traded wide receiver Brandin Cooks to the Los Angeles Rams, ESPN’s Adam Schefter has reported that the Pats will not be dealing superstar tight end Rob Gronkowski.

If that’s the case, nfl jerseys cheap shop New England fans have dodged a bullet.

Had Patriots head coach Bill Belichick opted to trade Gronkowski, he would have run the risk of entering the 2018 NFL season with a roster lacking the talent to compete with emerging NFC heavyweights, as well as New England’s top-flight AFC counterparts.

A Gronkowski trade would have given fellow Super Bowl contenders such as the Philadelphia Eagles, Minnesota Vikings, Los Angeles Rams and New Orleans Saints a leg up on a Patriots roster that is quickly resembling a shell of its former self. And a deal involving Gronk could have even tipped the AFC scales in favor of the Pittsburgh Steelers (who have more top-end talent as is) or the Jacksonville Jaguars (who are already much deeper).

The Patriots have made three of the last four Super Bowls, but as team that hasn’t drafted a player in the top 25 since 2012, New England has become too thin to sacrifice Gronk.

They might have won the AFC Championship in both 2016 and 2017, but the Pats cruised through one of the weakest divisions in the weaker of the two conferences. And according to Football Outsiders’ adjusted games lost formula, only 10 teams were healthier during that span.

Although the Patriots went 13-3 in 2017, tbey ranked lower than the Eagles, Vikings, Rams, Saints and Steelers in terms of DVOA (Defense-adjusted Value Over Average) at Football Outsiders.

And while at least Philly, Minnesota,nfl shop free shipping Los Angeles and New Orleans appeared to get better in free agency, New England lost stalwart left tackle Nate Solder, playmaking cornerback Malcolm Butler, flashy running back Dion Lewis and productive veteran wide receiver Danny Amendola in March before trading Cooks to the Rams this week.