According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, it’s possible that Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski could sit out of the team’s first three games of the season with a hamstring injury.
“The New England Patriots flew out to Arizona on Friday for a game this weekend. They didn’t bring their tight end, Rob Gronkowski. He was not well enough to make that trip, so that tells you there’s a question mark about whether or not he’ll be able to play this upcoming week against Miami,” Schefter said Monday, via NESN.com. “And the following week, the Patriots play a Thursday night game on a shortened week against the Houston Texans. So, I think there’s real questions about whether Rob Gronkowski can play the first few games of this season at this point in time.
“And with Tom Brady out four weeks, Rob Gronkowski could miss more time. They’ll chart him this week, they’ll see how it goes, but everyone always expects and assumes that Rob Gronkowski’s going to be out there with his bionic nature. But the fact of the matter is he’s got the hamstring injury.”
The Patriots’ offense held up surprisingly pretty well in Sunday’s game on the road in Arizona, so it’s possible that if Gronk isn’t close to 100 percent, they could sit him at least another week and see how he progresses.
Gronkowski, 27, is a former second-round pick of the Patriots back in 2010. He’s currently in the fifth year of his eight-year, $55.23 million contract that included $13.17 million guaranteed.
Gronkowski has outplayed this contract by a mile and is one of the most underpaid players in the NFL, especially with the new contracts signed by tight ends. He stands to make base salaries of $2.25 million (2016), $4.25 million (2017), $8 million (2018) and $9 million (2019) over the remainder of the contract.
In 2015, Gronkowski appeared in 15 games for the Patriots and caught 72 passes for 1,176 yards receiving and 11 touchdowns. Pro Football Focus had him rated as the No. 1 tight end out of 67 qualifying players.
We’ll have more regarding Gronkowski’s status as the news is available.
Looking for the latest NFL Insider News & Rumors?
Be sure to follow NFL Trade Rumors on TWITTER and FACEBOOK for breaking NFL News and Rumors for all 32 teams!
