Although Rob Gronkowski has now been retired for nearly eight months, It sounds like the Patriots would welcome him back with open arms if the tight end decided to make a return to football. 

According to NFL.com, Patriots owner Robert Kraft told Gronk in March that he'd like to see the tight end come out of retirement in November to help New England for a potential playoff run. Tom Brady was actually asked about that report this week and he gave a very interesting answer. At first, Brady seemed to insinuate that the report could be inaccurate. 

"I am really good friends with Gronk. We have had a great relationship for 10 years," Brady said during an interview with WEEI in Boston. "Just because things are reported doesn't necessarily mean they are always true."

However, Brady did also admit that it was completely possible that Kraft left the door wide open for Gronk to possibly return in November. 

"Just for the record ... I don't know," Brady said. "Those are conversations I am not privy to."

Kraft hasn't really tried to hide the fact that he wants Gronk to return. In early October, the Patriots owner said he's been praying and hoping that the tight end will eventually make a comeback. 

"We all love Gronk and I think the bottom line is he hasn't put his retirement papers in," Kraft said. "So we can always pray and hope. ... That's a good academic argument that there is hope for us still with Gronk."

If Gronk wants to return, he's running out of time to do it, and that's because the deadline for him to come out of retirement is the day before the Patriots' Week 13 game, which means he has until Nov. 30 to make a final decision. If Gronk doesn't return by Nov. 30, then he would be ineligible to return this year. 

So does Gronk even want to return? The tight end kind of slammed the door on any possibility of a comeback during an interview back in mid-October. 

"When I retired, I retired for a reason," Gronk said. "It would be a no. There it is."

Despite that answer, we should probably also note that Gronk definitely sounded open to the idea of a return when he was asked about it just weeks earlier. 

"I'd have to be feeling it big time to comeback, it's always going to be open in my mind," Gronkowski said on Oct. 10. "I love the game of football, I love playing the game, I love being around the game. I even love watching the game ... I'll always keep the door open."

As for Brady, he seems to think Gronk WON'T be returning. The Patriots quarterback says the guys he's playing with now are the same guys he's going to be playing down the stretch. 

"Our team is what it is," Brady said. "The trade deadline is gone. Training camp has passed. Free agency is gone. The draft is gone. I mean, our team is what it is and I am excited about who we have and the opportunity that we have. I said last week, to be 8-1 and have the opportunity in the second half of the year that we do, I think anyone would take that. It hasn't all been perfect, but it's been good enough in some areas."

With or without Gronk, Brady says the Patriots need to "ramp it up" as they head into the second half of their season. 

"We're really going to have to really ramp it up and play our best as we go forward," Brady said. "Hopefully it will be a great second half of the season. It's really up to us to earn it, the people that are in the locker room have to show up to work every day with a great sense of determination, commitment to doing our best for each other, for the team, and try and go get a win. It starts this week in Philly."

Although Brady won't come out and say it, he'd probably love to see Gronk make a return, and that's because the Patriots have had a hard time replacing him. Through nine games, Patriots tight ends Ryan Izzo, Matt LaCosse and Ben Watson have combined for 17 catches for 241 yards and one touchdown.