The New England Patriots will not have Rob Gronkowski for the remainder of the season. The team had to shut its star tight end down after back surgery, according to ESPN’s Field Yates.
The Patriots have placed TE Rob Gronkowski on injured reserve, per a league source. His season is officially over.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) December 3, 2016
Gronkowski had to undergo surgery to repair a ruptured disc in his back earlier this week. While the original hope for the team was that Gronkowski would be able to return in time to play in the Super Bowl if the team made it that far, that is obviously not going to be the case. That became evident when the team released a statement on Friday saying, “We do not expect that he will be able to play for the remainder of the 2016 season, but will await the results of tomorrow’s surgery before making a final determination.”
While the Patriots should be able to make due without Gronkowski – they still have Martellus Bennett at tight end, while Tom Brady has been playing great all year – losing the game’s best tight end is huge. Plus there are the potential long-term implications that come along with this, as a former Patriots team doctor said that this could impact his ability to play football going forward depending on the type of injury he suffered.
