Report: Rob Gronkowski Out for Postseason, Needs Surgery for Forearm
By Josh Hill
New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski made his return from a broken forearm on Sunday against the Texans. But when he fell on his injured forearm it was clear that Gronkowski was not ready to return to action. After leaving the game, the Patriots have announced that their tight end will need surgery and will therefore be out for the remainder of the postseason.
To be fair, Gronkowski made his official return in Week 17 where he caught two passes, but it turns out that those two catches filled Patriots fans –and apparently Patriots personnel — with false hope as Gronkowski is now done for the rest of the playoffs.
Pro Football Talk was the first to report.
Gronkowski required reconstructive surgery after breaking his arm back on November 18th, but two months of recovery wasn’t enough for him to fully come back. The Patriots didn’t even need Gronkowski at full strength, but he apparently wasn’t anywhere close to half strength before he played today’s game.
NFL Network’s Ian Rappoport reported that Gronkowski hadn’t been feeling all that comfortable before Sunday’s game, and once he got onto the field that was very evident.
Aaron Hernandez filled in for Gronkowski after he left the game, and while teams can now prepare solely for him in their schemes, Hernandez seemed to get the job done. That should give the Patriots confidence moving forward that they will be able to win without Gronkowski next week when they welcome in the Baltimore Ravens.