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One common thread that was visible throughout the week leading up to Super Bowl 53 were the retirement questions once again surrounding New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski. The 29-year old New England Patriots T-Shirt , who was under the microscope all of last year’s offseason for the same reason, was asked on multiple occasions to comment. Needless to say that he did not give any definitive answer revealing his intentions about continuing to play or calling it a (Hall of Fame) career.Gronkowski, however, is not the only member of the club seen as a candidate to step away from the game soon: safety Devin McCourty raised eyebrows during Monday’s media day when he did not definitively confirm that he would return to the Patriots next season. McCourty clarified his comments later during the week but at that point the talking heads, radio hosts, and analysts were already all over the story.One thing is certain, though, at this point both Gronkowski and McCourty are only rumored to possibly consider hanging up their cleats after this year. However, there are multiple other players on the Patriots whose future with the club is very much uncertain beyond Sunday’s Super Bowl against the Los Angeles Rams: the team has a long list of players about the enter unrestricted free agency — a list that includes some of the team’s core players.The two biggest names on the list are undoubtably defensive edge Trey Flowers and offensive tackle Trent Brown. Both men are core members of their respective units and will likely be highly sought-after free agents — and potentially enormous losses. Flowers is the most disruptive pass rusher on the team and a player that has gotten better every year in the NFL to a point where he is now on the cusp of the league’s truly elite linemen.Brown, meanwhile, joined the team via trade during the 2018 NFL draft as a candidate to serve as the replacement for long-term starter Nate Solder. The 25-year old became just that after he effortlessly transitioned from playing on the right side of the line to the left without any visible issues. Brown, who began his career with the San Francisco 49ers before getting shipped to New England, is not on the same level of consistent excellence as for example Flowers, but he is a very good blocker that has successfully filled Solder’s enormous shoes.While Brown would be a big loss for the Patriots after his very good first season with the club, his departure would probably not hurt as much as Flowers’ simply because New England lacks a viable replacement. At offensive tackle New England Patriots Hats , meanwhile, 2018 first-round draft pick Isaiah Wynn might be able to take over. While the rookie missed all of his first NFL campaign due to an Achilles injury and is noticeably shorter than Brown, he certainly has the talent to become a successful tackle at the next level as well.Flowers and Brown are numbers one and two on the list of possible free agency departures next offseason, and together with Gronkowski (and McCourty if there were indeed any truth to the rumors about his retirement) would be tremendous losses. All three are very good-to-elite players, after all, and will play huge roles again in Sunday’s game — possibly their last one wearing a Patriots uniform.The same goes, of course, for the rest of the players about to hit the open market in March.Stephen Gostkowski and Ryan Allen are integral members of the kicking operation, as is Cordarrelle Patterson who also serves as a jack-of-all-trades on offense. Chris Hogan, Jason McCourty, Malcom Brown, Albert McClellan and Ramon Humber have all carved out starting roles in their respective units. Phillip Dorsett and John Simon are valuable rotational players.And while Gronkowski’s potential retirement yet again stole most of the headlines, Flowers, Brown and company might be even more realistic candidates to move on from the Patriots in a little more than a month. PITTSBURGH (AP) — No last-second meltdown. No double-lateral magic by the opponents. No, the New England Patriots couldn’t point to anything fluky in a 17-10 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday.Not after a game in which they were penalized 14 times for 106 yardsOne in which they punted on five straight possessions and managed all of three points in three trips to the red zone.One in which the Steelers finally figured out a way to slow down Rob Gronkowski and keep Tom Brady from carving them up New England Patriots Hoodie , something he’d done with remarkable ease throughout the years.The Patriots (9-5) are still in comfortable position to win their 10th straight AFC East title. Yet rarely during their dynasty have they looked so vulnerable so late in the season. New England dropped its second straight and fell to 3-5 away from Gillette Stadium, meaning it will almost certainly have to go on the road at least once and possibly twice to reach another Super Bowl.Not that one seemed particularly close at hand during another anemic showing in their road white uniforms. The Patriots have lost five games in the regular season for the first time since 2009, which also happened to be the last time they finished under .500 on the road (2-6). A week ago it was Miami’s dramatic 69-yard series of laterals on the final snap. This time around, the issues were far more basic.“We obviously haven’t played very well on the road,” Brady said. “Obviously what we are doing isn’t good enough. It’s just a cumulative thing. We’re out here as a team trying to compete. When you’re on the road you have to play well. Some things are a little bit more challenging on the road. We have to embrace those things. And we just haven’t done a great job on that.”Brady finished 25 of 36 for 279 yards to become the fourth player in NFL history to top 70,000 career yards passing, but had trouble getting the ball downfield after a busted coverage left Chris Hogan open for a 63-yard score on New England’s third offensive snap. Gronkowski, who came in averaging 111 yards receiving in six games against Pittsburgh, caught two passes for 21 yards.The Patriots also had trouble finishing drives. Each of their last three possessions ended up in the red zone, but the only points they managed were a 33-yard Stephen Gostkowski field goal in the third quarter that trimmed Pittsburgh’s lead to 14-10.“Just not converting, I think that’s all it is,” running back James White said. “Not executing the way we want to. We have to be better.”All the penalties didn’t help. The missteps came in a wide variety of ways, from pass interference to false starts to offensive and defensive holding, mistakes that made momentum difficult to come by. The most damaging came in the final moments.New England had second-and-5 at the Pittsburgh 11 with 37 seconds to go needing a touchdown. Right guard Shaq Mason was flagged for holding, pushing the ball back to the 21. Three Brady incompletions — the last a pass intended for Julian Edelman that was broken up by safety Morgan Burnett — and it was over.“Obviously Cheap Customized New England Patriots Jerseys , there is holding on every play in the NFL,” Brady said. “That’s what we do, we hold. It’s just whether you get called or not. If they are calling it, then you just have to do a little bit less of it.”Edelman, who wore cleats honoring the 11 people killed in a shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue in October, pointed the finger at himself for some of New England’s issues.“We definitely have to be a little more poised,” Edelman said. “That starts with me. I had two penalties. It put us in a hole. We had a lot of penalties and you can’t have that against a good team. Plain and simple. That’s a good football team.”Just one that had not played like it lately. The Steelers came in having lost three straight and winless against New England since 2011. Yet they never trailed and had little trouble moving the ball on the ground with rookie running back Jaylen Samuels, who ran for a season-high 142 yards in his second NFL start.The Patriots have allowed at least 104 yards in each of their five losses.“They did a good job of running the ball,” safety Duron Harmon said. “That’s something obviously the last few weeks we haven’t been as well against … but I know (the defensive linemen) are working their tails off to try and stop it and they’ll continue to work their tails off until we do stop them. I’m confident in the group we have.”It’s a swagger that comes from having come through so many times, swagger that may be lacking a bit this time around.“Every year is different, every team is different,” Gronkowski said. “Every year we just have to stick together. We have to keep on grinding. We have to keep on working and we’ve got to keep moving forward.”