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Pats’ Rob Gronkowski wins 2014 Comeback Player of the Year award

By Trisity Miller

Jan 28, 2015; Chandler, AZ, USA; New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski (87) answers questions during a press conference at Chandler Wild Horse Pass. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 28, 2015; Chandler, AZ, USA; New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski (87) answers questions during a press conference at Chandler Wild Horse Pass. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports /
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Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski takes home the 2014 Comeback Player of the Year award at the NFL Honors

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At the start of the season, there was no bigger anticipation surrounding a player than that of the limelight upon Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski.

Because of a torn ACL and MCL, Gronkowski was forced to miss the second half of the 2013 season, playoffs included, and the Patriots hurt from it. But after another off-season of injury recovery, Gronkowski returned at peak form, which has led to the tight end being named the 2014 Comeback Player of the Year at NFL Honors on Saturday.

While the selection wasn’t unanimous, Gronkowski had a sizable lead over his competition for Comeback Player of the Year.

By winning Comeback Player of the Year, Gronk joins an excellent group of people who’ve won the same award, including Peyton Manning in 2012, after being sidelined with those nasty neck injuries, Michael Vick in 2010, after being suspended from the league following the infamous dog-fighting scandal in Atlanta, and teammate Tom Brady in 2009, after recovering from the ACL injury suffered in the opening game in 2008.

It can’t be overstated how important a player Rob Gronkowski is. He’s easily the best tight end in football (and could be on his way to be the greatest ever), and without him, the Patriots are far from the team that’s competing for their fourth Super Bowl in seven appearances since the turn of the decade.

Despite spending the first few games of the season shaking off rust, Gronk finished his season with 1,124 yards (15th in league, most by tight-end) and 12 receiving touchdowns (tied 4th for most in league, tied 1st for most by tight-end with Julius Thomas and Antonio Gates. The most important statistic of all? For the first time since the 2011 season, Gronkowski played in at least 15 games in the season.

For the Patriots in general, Gronkowski just making it through the regular season wasn’t enough — he also had to make it through the postseason; and that he has done. All that’s now left on both Gronk’s and New England’s list of things to do is win a Super Bowl. Unlike the last time the Patriots were in the biggest game of the year, Gronk is healthy, and that could be a big enough factor for them to win it all.

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