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NFL Network Trolls Patriots Fans With Outrageous Gronk - LeBron Comparison

By Matt Dolloff, CBS Boston

BOSTON (CBS) -- Must be the proverbial "slow news day" at the NFL Network. Or they were just hungry for a good ol' Twitter fight with salty Patriots fans. Either way, they made one of the most absurdly asinine comparisons ever made in sports on Twitter Friday afternoon.

They asked who would be the better tight end between LeBron James, NBA superstar and flopper extraordinaire with zero football experience beyond high school, and Rob Gronkowski, who is on pace to become perhaps the greatest tight end in NFL history.

It pains me to even acknowledge this inane piece of click-bait, this embarrassing and borderline offensive comparison. Patriots fans may have a reputation in other parts of the country for being sensitive, but any and all outrage over this blatant disrespect to Gronk, especially considering this is coming from the NFL Network, is warranted. I can't believe that any self-respecting analyst on the network would even entertain this.

Gronk's teammate LeGarrette Blount was just as flabbergasted as anyone by the question.

If you must make me explain why LeBron James wouldn't be in Gronk's stratosphere ... There's no denying that LeBron is a world-class athlete. He was a five-star recruit as a wide receiver in high school and declined to play at Notre Dame to make the jump to the NBA. He clearly made the right choice there. If he were to play in the NFL, he could be similar to Jimmy Graham - an athletic freak who can dominate one-on-one and be a huge red zone target.

But that's as far as I'm willing to go with LeBron-as-NFL-tight-end. As a player who has earned a reputation for needlessly flopping and once had himself carried off the court because of cramps, there's little to no chance he could handle the physicality of NFL defenses, let alone come close to doing what Gronk does.

This response tells you all you need to know:

So, yeah, stupid question that's already had too many words wasted on it. But if Blount can get mad about it then so can we, dammit!

How do you think LeBron would fare in the NFL? Share your reactions to this insanity in the comments.

Matt Dolloff is a writer for CBSBostonSports.com. His opinions do not necessarily reflect that of CBS or 98.5 The Sports Hub. Have a news tip or comment for Matt? Follow him on Twitter @mattdolloff and email him at mdolloff@985thesportshub.com.

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