New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski is trying to recover from an ACL/MCL injury suffered during the 2013 season. He was cleared by doctors ahead of training camp and avoided getting put on the active/physically-unable-to-perform list.
It is pretty remarkable considering he is just a little over seven months removed from suffering the injury, but it looks like the Patriots aren’t risking Gronkowski’s health early in training camp.
Gronkowski did not participate in any team work, 7-on-7 or 11-on-11 drills on Thursday, according to Ben Volin of the Boston Globe.
FYI Gronk did positional drills and 1 on 1 stuff with Brady, but is being held out of 7 on 7 and 11 on 11 drills
— Ben Volin (@BenVolin) July 24, 2014
By not being put on that list, he is not eligible for the reserve/PUP list to start the season, which would hold him out for six games. The Patriots desperately need Gronkowski back in their line up after lacking weapons in the passing game last year.