Should you start Rob Gronkowski against Texans

Is it wise to start Rob Gronkowski for Sunday night’s game?

The New England Patriots’ Pro Bowl tight end Rob Gronkowski has not played since injuring his knee in Week 12’s home loss to the Denver Broncos. Gronkowski did not play in New England’s Week 13 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.

Per NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport, Gronkowski did make the trip to Houston for the Patriots’ game versus the Houston Texans and is listed as questionable for Sunday night’s game.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that a source close to the team says that Gronkowski’s probability to play on Sunday Night Football “looks good.”

With New England on a two-game slide and possibly dealing with its first three-game losing streak since 2002, it seems like starting Gronkowski is the way to go, especially with slot receiver Julian Edelman out.

Quarterback Tom Brady will need to have a reliable target when going against the No. 3 pass defense in the NFL in the 6-6 Texans. The ground game for New England has been a struggle since Dion Lewis went down for an injury on the year. Whether or not it is the best way to go after the No. 7 defense in football, New England will want to get into a rhythm using the short-to-medium passing game, focusing one using either tight end: Gronkowski or Scott Chandler.

Odds are New England head coach Bill Belichick won’t want to lose any more ground in the AFC standings. He would rather have a first-round bye than having to play in likely either Cincinnati or Denver in the AFC Divisional round.

With this being a primetime game and a game that New England probably needs to win to stay in the AFC home field advantage race, look for Brady to target Gronkowski early and often. If Gronk is on your fantasy team, it make sense to start him in Week 14.