Rob Gronkowski carried himself gracefully while falling victim to a prank from the Fox NFL Sunday crew.
In a video posted by NFL on Fox, the former tight end’s facial expression reflected the questions in his head during what he thought was a live segment before a Cowboys-Bills game.
The premise of the practical joke was that Jay Glazer would break the news on air that the Cowboys have activated fictional tight end ‘Rich Russo’. As the crew began exchanging analysis about Russo’s impact on the game, Gronkowski glanced around in silence.
After Curt Menefee passed the question to Gronkowski, he took the information and said: ‘He’s been out for a little bit so he might be a little rusty coming back.’
‘But, also, they got [Jake] Ferguson as well – they’re gonna be a one-two combo,’ he added before trying to stir the conversation from the made-up player.
‘Ferguson has been showing that he’s the guy,’ Gronkowski said. ‘They’re gonna feed the ball to Ferguson.’
The crew began breaking character, and laughter boiled over after Gronkowski made a remark about his catching ability.
‘He’s the only guy in the league that has two fingers missing on his right hand,’ Terry Bradshaw said of Russo. ‘That’s why he’s been out, but he’s back now.’
‘Is that gonna affect him when he’s catching a pass?’ Gronkowski responded, slightly raising her volume. ‘I don’t know I still have all five of my fingers.’
The crew then revealed the prank and Russo’s false existence before Gronkowski laughed off being ridiculed by his colleagues.
‘You guys had my head spinning that’s for sure,’ Gronkowski said. ‘I’ve learned two things from it; that I am a funny guy, and number two is that I am always ready.