Rob Gronkowski remains closer to doubtful

There have been several positive reports about New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski this week. One ESPN report even said Gronkowski was “50-50” to play in this weekend’s game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

However, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk is hearing otherwise.

Florio reports the team views Gronkowski as closer to “doubtful” than “questionable,” which means Gronkowski would have around a quarter of a chance at playing, rather than “50-50.”

Gronkowski, of course, had several surgeries to fix his arm, which he broke twice last season. He also had another surgery on his back in June, an issue that has plagued him since his days at Arizona.

Gronkowski is on pace to be one of the most productive tight ends in NFL history. Last season, he had 55 catches for 790 yards and 11 touchdowns despite missing five games. In 2011, he set an NFL tight end record with 1,327 yards receiving. In his three-year career, he has 187 catches for 2,663 yards and 38 touchdowns.

With all of his current injuries and his injury history, the Patriots likely don’t want to take any chances with Gronkowski because without him, they aren’t going anywhere in the postseason.

The Patriots will host the Buccaneers Sunday at 1:00 pm EST.