New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski will not play in tonight’s game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Adam Schefter reported the news today on Twitter.
Updated: Patriots’ TE Rob Gronkowski is not expected to play tonight vs Bucs, per source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 5, 2017
Earlier reports indicated that if Gronkowski was to play, it would be a limited number of snaps.
No sure thing Rob Gronkowski is active tonight and if he is, he will be limited, per source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 5, 2017
Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski is battling a thight contusion that will limit his snaps tonight, if he plays.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 5, 2017
#Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski, who is dealing with a thigh issue, was expected to be limited tonight. Now, he won’t play. Rough news.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 5, 2017
This is the second time this season Gronkowski has been injured. He left during the teams week 2 game against the New Orleans Saints.
Quarterback Tom Brady will have to settle for Dwayne Allen and Jacob Hollister. The two have a combined 2 receptions for 34 yards on 4 targets. Gronkowski has 318 receiving yards in four games.
This is nothing new. Gronkowski has a long history of injuries. He has spent 5 of his 8 years in the NFL dealing with some kind of injury. Gronkowski missed 8 games last year, including the Patriots run through the playoffs.
Currently, the Patriots are 2-2 this season. Brady has been impressive this year but will have limited targets to throw to with Gronkowski out. He will have to rely more on Brandin Cooks and Chris Hogan to get into space. Gronkowski’s injury will be reevaluated before next weeks game against the New York Jets.
