Former New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski reacted to wide receiver Romeo Doubs wearing his No. 87 in the 2026 season. While looking ahead to the Patriots' Week 2 matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Gronkowski gave his honest take on how he feels about Doubs becoming the first player to wear No. 87 since the four-time Super Bowl champion last played in New England.

Gronkowski revealed that he wasn't notified by the Patriots about Doubs wearing his former number, but isn't offended by it, he said, via Kay Adams' The Up & Adams Show.

“I'm not the one that makes the decisions over there,” Gronkowski said. “I wasn't consulted at all, but I'm cool with it. The only number that I truly believe that should be retired in New England, which I think is retired, but it's not hung up in the rafters or anything, is the number 12. That's the only number that I truly believe. Tom set the standards. And if you're not playing for 20 years, I don't think that any other number should be retired. I think all other number should be very usable.”

After host Kay Adams expressed her disappointment in the Patriots allowing a player to wear Rob Gronkowski's No. 87 without any notifying the former tight end, Gronk showed his appreciation for her defiant stance on the matter.

“I'm just going to let you speak about the matter,” Grokowski added. “I plead the fifth over here. You're consulting was wonderful.”

Romeo Doubs is wearing Gronk's 87 in New England.

NO ONE checked with him or asked him if that's okay. NO ONE should wear 87 for the @Patriots. pic.twitter.com/1jnc9sESD0

— Kay Adams (@heykayadams) September 16, 2026

Doubs and the Patriots will look to bounce back from their 13-10 loss to the Seattle Seahawks when they host the Steelers on Sunday.