The New England Patriots are understandably excited to have Tom Brady back on the field in Week 5, but do they need to be concerned about their star tight end?
Rob Gronkowski, who tweaked his hamstring back in August, has had virtually no impact in the passing game the past two weeks. That could have a lot to do with rookie Jacoby Brissett starting at quarterback in both games, but Mike Garafolo of NFL Network reported on Tuesday that there is reason to believe Gronkowski is not fully healthy.
“He is not himself,” Garafolo said. “I had two calls yesterday. One guy who is semi-connected to Gronk said, ‘How are you guys not paying attention? This guy is not right.’ That hamstring has not come along like they thought it was going to.”
Garafolo said another source pointed out that the Patriots used Gronkowski primarily as a blocker against the Buffalo Bills and did not have him run down the field very far. Again, that could have to do with the limitations of Brissett more than anything.
Gronk is the focal point of New England’s passing attack when Brady is under center, so Sunday’s game against the Cleveland Browns will tell us more. If the All-Pro is once again used as a blocker and runs hardly any routes, that will be a major red flag. Between what Garafolo heard and the report we shared with you earlier in the week, it seems like Gronkowski is playing at much less than 100 percent health.
