New England Patriots

Report: Rob Gronkowski Injury 'Not Serious,' Won't Miss Time

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski came into today’s game against the New York Jets questionable to play and exited before the end of the first half.

Tom Brady is the most important player on the New England Patriots, but this team’s Super Bowl hopes have been put in jeopardy in the past whenever Rob Gronkowski gets injured. With more depth at the wide receiver and tight end positions this year (say hello to Malcolm Mitchell and Martellus Bennett), the Patriots are better able to withstand any injury to Gronkowski.

However, Gronk remains the team’s best pass-catcher and he is clearly their most important playmaker. Gronk has somehow averaged 21.6 yards per reception, which is almost unprecedented for a tight end. I mean, that’s like Torrey Smith or DeSean Jackson territory.

Gronkowski left Sunday’s game against the New York Jets with an injury after coming into the game as a 50/50 game-time decision. It appears the Patriots are proceeding with caution, but this injury is a back issue, which is different from the chest issue he entered the game with.

ProFootballTalk reports that Gronk’s injury does not appear to be serious and it is excellent to hear that he is not expected to miss time. We’ve seen the Pats act cautiously with Gronk’s injury in the past, including when they held him out of a marquee Week 1 matchup against the Arizona Cardinals in Jimmy Garoppolo’s debut as a starter.

The Patriots will face Jeff Fisher’s Los Angeles Rams in Week 13, so keep an eye out for more updates regarding Gronkowski’s status.