New England Patriots Rob Gronkowski likely to miss first six games of season
By Bryan Rose
The New England Patriots have taken a cautious route with tight end Rob Gronkowski and continue to do so as the former Arizona Wildcat has been spotted in street clothes during training camp practices. Why is that significant? Most players who aren’t ready to ‘practice’ but attend training camp (essentially PUP listers) dress out and rehab, but Gronk isn’t even able to do that as of yet.
Recovering from a multitude of back operations, Boston.com believes the Patriots will keep Gronkowski on the PUP (physically unable to perform) list through the season’s first six games in hopes he’ll fully recover and they’ll have a healthy Gronk come the second half of the season:
"Tight end Rob Gronkowski has almost become a forgotten member of the Patriots as he rehabs from back surgery and sits out training camp. He has attended practices most days in street clothes, but the Patriots won’t make him available to the media until he comes off the physically unable to perform list, which could be any time in training camp (highly doubtful), before Week 1 (possible) or after missing six regular games, by rule (more likely)."