Gronkowski seemed flabbergasted when a pass interference call wiped out a big reception in Sunday night’s overtime loss to the Broncos. “Any timetable reported prior to that final determination would be speculative”.
Advertisement
ESPN footage showed Gronkowski walking from the X-ray room to the Patriots’ locker room with a slight limp, but on Monday, reports indicated that the injury was not serious and he could return to the field as early as Sunday night at Houston. Gronkowski is not expected to miss an extended period of time.
That the Patriots issued their statement in conjunction with Gronkowski’s family indicates the two sides are working together.
The Patriots may opt to err on the side of caution with Gronkowski considering his injury history, and given that the 4-7 Eagles are one of the weakest teams left on the regular season schedule.
And it’s not just Pats fans who think Gronk is getting hosed.
The injury to Gronkowski is another tough setback for New England’s offense as it already suffers injuries to key players running back Dion Lewis and wide receivers Julian Edelman and Danny Amendola.
Advertisement
Rob Gronkowski has been called for accepted offensive pass interference (OPI) penalties on five occasions this year. The latest infraction came Sunday, when his 10-yard catch on a third-and-5 play in the fourth quarter was nullified; Gronkowski was actually flagged for OPI twice against the Broncos, but the first penalty was offset by a defensive penalty on Aqib Talib. “I bet if you ask the players, they would really go high than low”, he said.
