Rob Gronkowski is finally opening up about what it was like when he found his Patriots teammate Aaron Hernandez was a suspect in a murder case ... and it's clear Gronk is still shaken up about it.
FYI, Gronk and Aaron were both selected by the Patriots in the 2010 NFL Draft and spent countless hours together in meetings and workouts because they both play the same position, tight end.
Of course, Aaron's NFL career came to a screeching halt in 2013 when he was arrested for the murder of Odin Lloyd. He was found guilty of 1st-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison.
"I was definitely shook when I heard that," Gronk said during the "10 Questions with Kyle Brandt" podcast.
"Because, being his teammate and everything -- you really don't see that. You're not really looking into players like that ... that's who they are, or that's what they're doing."
Gronk says Hernandez was a "great football player" -- but notes in the greater scheme of things "that does not mean anything."
Hernandez was also charged in the 2012 double murder of Daniel de Abreu and Safiro Furtado -- but he was ultimately acquitted in 2017.
Just days after the acquittal, Hernandez took his own life in his prison cell. He was 27 years old.