Tony Gonzalez is a lot better at playing tight end than he is at figuring out percentages.
After saying throughout last season that he was “95 percent sure” 2012 would be his last year in the NFL, the Falcons’ perennial Pro Bowl tight end reversed course yesterday and announced he is coming back for at least one more.
Gonzalez’s decision was the best decision the Falcons could have gotten on the first day of NFL-wide free agency.
“After discussing it with my family and really, truly struggling with this decision, I informed the Falcons that I would like to return for one more shot,” Gonzalez told Fox Sports yesterday afternoon.
Gonzalez, 37, opted to play a 17th season in the NFL in part because he didn’t like how Atlanta finished last season — just a few yards short of a trip to the Super Bowl at the end of an agonizing, 28-24 home loss to the 49ers in the NFC Championship.
Gonzalez had just won the first playoff game of his stellar NFL career the week before, and the chance to see if he finally could make it to the big game was too much to pass up.
“This whole year, I knew it would be my last,” Gonzalez said. “But with the way our final game ended and [from] talking to all the guys in the locker room, it was too difficult of a way for me to step away from the game.”
A 13-time Pro Bowl selection and widely considered the best pass-catching tight end in NFL history with 1,242 career receptions, Gonzalez certainly showed no signs of slowing down last season.
Including the playoffs, Gonzalez hauled in 107 catches for 1,069 yards and 10 touchdowns in 18 games in 2012.