Rob Gronkowski will be a game time decision

New England Patriots’ tight end Rob Gronkowski will be a game time decision for Sunday’s game with the Houston Texans.

The best and worst news of the day for any Rob Gronkowski fantasy owner: the star tight end will be a game time decision for Sunday Night Football. This means that his return is near, but owners will be held hostage until Sunday evening, and must make a tough decision early in the day.

Gronk has been on fire so far this season, collecting 57 passes for a ridiculous 931 yards and 9 touchdowns. Perhaps the biggest illustration of Tom Brady’s joy at getting Gronk back on the field is his 16.3 yards per catch.

For all of Gronkowski’s dominance, his absence has been felt. Going down in the fourth quarter of the Patriots’ first loss of the season to the Denver Broncos, Gronk was then ruled out of last week’s shock loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. Brady has been playing at an MVP level all season, but after losing Dion Lewis and Julian Edelman before Gronk, the lack of weapons was beginning to hamstring the Patriots’ high octane offense.

However, Edelman is back in training, although he will not available tonight, and Gronkowski is very nearly back on the field. In what capacity we will see Gronk is currently unknown, and with Belichick’s track record we won’t know until the game, but the very possibility of his return is a major boost for New England.

The Patriots have now lost two in a row and are sitting even with the Cincinnati Bengals and aforementioned Broncos at 10-2 for the lead in the AFC. New England will be desperate to secure a top seed and home field advantage in the postseason, and Gronk’s return will be a huge positive.