TNF’s Tony Gonzalez Talks Aaron Donald, Kelce, Mahomes & More with Rich

Tony Gonzalez does not leave the house without the gold jacket. Dinners, family reunions, the barber shop. All of it.

"Every day. Every day, Rich," Gonzalez told Rich. "I don't leave the house without wearing this jacket."

The number stitched inside reads 322, which makes Gonzalez the 322nd member inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He has never had it let out, either.

That got the conversation to Aaron Donald coming back to play alongside Myles Garrett. Gonzalez thinks the comeback is real, and he thinks he knows why.

"He could have came back last year if it was about money or Super Bowl. They had a Super Bowl last year," Gonzalez said. "So it's just to play with that guy and let's do something legendary together."

Would tight ends have to chip Garrett more often? Gonzalez did not hesitate. "Trust me, tight ends don't want any part of that."

The comparison he reached for was not subtle. "Could you imagine if Reggie White teamed up with Lawrence Taylor? It's that duo right there." Gonzalez called Donald arguably the best defensive player ever and Garrett the best defensive player in the NFL right now, then delivered the verdict that should scare the other 31 teams.

"It's not going to be fair. If those guys stay healthy, how do you beat those guys with the MVP of the league on the other side of the ball throwing the ball?"

He did add a caveat. Donald has been away for two years, and defensive tackle is not a soft landing. "It's a lot more physical than a receiver or a tight end coming back." Gonzalez still has a feeling Donald pulls it off.

As for the rest of the roster, he called the Rams the best in the league and one of the best coached, the NFL's version of that Chicago Bulls team everyone gathers to watch when the bus pulls up.

Week 13 puts the Chiefs in SoFi against them, and Gonzalez owns his bias there. "I'm the eternal optimist when it comes to the Chiefs. I can't quit them." He pointed to Patrick Mahomes coming back from injury, Chris Jones still in the middle, and Travis Kelce returning. "I still think they're going to win the AFC West. I'll put it out there."

Kelce is a complicated subject for the man who set the standard at the position in Kansas City. Gonzalez called it bittersweet.

"Every time I come to Kansas City I'm like, geez, I wish I could have had it like this when I was here," he said. "He is the guy who has set the tone in that locker room."

Explosiveness aside, Gonzalez believes the connection still moves the chains because the two of them are on the same page. "Travis will go up his 10 yards, he's supposed to run a corner route, he'll just turn around and Pat knows how to pop it to him."

Then came the one that still stings. After retiring in 2013, Gonzalez got a call from Tom Brady to come throw at UCLA. He showed up expecting a group. It was Brady, his trainers, and a pitch.

"Obviously I said no. Looking back, it was probably the stupidest thing I ever did, because I think they won the Super Bowl that year."

Gonzalez and Rob Gronkowski, double tight, in that offense. Gonzalez passed.

He is also working with Novartis on prostate cancer awareness and early detection, a cause that runs straight through his family. His grandfather and an uncle both died from it, and another uncle has it now.