Patriots place Rob Gronkowski on injured reserve, officially ending his season

It's official — the New England Patriots will be without Rob Gronkowski for the remainder of the season.

On Saturday, the team placed Gronk on injured reserve, ending any chance of a potential Super Bowl comeback.

Via Patriots.com:

The New England Patriots announced today that they have placed TE Rob Gronkowski on injured reserve. In addition, the Patriots signed RB D.J. Foster from the practice squad to the 53-man roster. 

Gronkowski played in eight games in 2016 with six starts and caught 25 receptions for 540 yards with three touchdowns.

Gronkowski underwent surgery on a herniated disk in his back on Friday, an injury the Patriots tight end suffered in New England's Week 12 win over the New York Jets.

Gronkowski shared an Instagram video of himself post-surgery on Friday night, "back in action" after the surgery. "Dance floor tomorrow night. Here I come," Gronkowski declared as he took steps down a hospital hallway with a walker (warning: mild expletive ahead):

There originally was some hope that Gronkowski would be able to recover in time for a potential Patriots berth in the Super Bowl, but Saturday's news brings an end to an injury-filled season for Gronk. While NFL teams are allowed to designate one player from IR to return to play after missing six weeks of games and practices, the Patriots used their designation on Jacoby Brissett earlier this week.

In his career, Gronkowski has missed 21 games due to injury. The Patriots are 15-6 in those games, including 3-0 this season.