Tony Gonzalez is a man of his word. The future Hall of Fame tight end opted to forego retirement for one more shot at a Super Bowl with the Atlanta Falcons. In the preseason hope was high that the team could return to at least the NFC Championship with a shot at winning it all. However, the season has taken a turn for the worse as injuries have plagues the Falcons since the preseason. Despite the 1-4 start, Gonzalez is not "jumping ship" and requesting a trade.
Media and football fans alike started a firestorm of rumors about a potential trade of Gonzalez. Fans wanted to see the tight end sent to a Super Bowl contending team instead of wasting his final year with a Falcons team destined for a high draft pick. The tight end told reporters that his family and friends were calling asking if he was leaving the team, something Gonzalez is shooting down once and for all.
"I'm still happy as I can be to be a Falcon," Gonzalez said, via ESPN.com. "I know there were trade rumors out there. I didn't ask for a trade. That wasn't me. I signed up, and this is the team that ... I came back to play with these guys on the team. And I'm enjoying myself, win, lose or draw. Obviously I'd rather win. It makes it a lot more fun. But there is no way I would think about jumping ship because I love playing for this team, I love playing for this city."
Speculation ran wild that Gonzalez could return to his former team, the Kansas City Chiefs. They are undefeated on the year and could possibly be a sleeper team to make run into the playoffs. Gonzalez was looked at as the final piece to get the team there. Despite all the speculation, Gonzalez never once thought to go request a trade from the Falcons.
"I would never go and ask [the Falcons] for a trade," Gonzalez said. "And if that's something that they wanted to do to help their franchise, that's up to them. But it wouldn't be coming from me. Like I said, I came back to play with these guys. I have great relationships with these guys. ... These guys are friends that I'll call for the rest of my life. Like I said, I'm not going to jump ship. I'm not saying, 'Things are bad around here, so I'm out of here.'"
Gonzalez said he has not been distracted by all the discussion. Instead he is focused on getting Atlanta their second win. The tight end will likely become Matt Ryan's top target with Julio Jones out for the season and Roddy White suffering from injuries. So far on the year, Gonzalez has 33 catches for 339 yards as the second leading receiver.