Rob Gronkowski did not dress on Sunday and missed his sixth straight game of the season as he awaits medical clearance to return from multiple surgeries. Gronk has been practicing with his New England Patriots teammates, leading them to wonder why the tight end still hasn’t suited up in a game. It’s understandable from Gronk’s perspective why he wants to wait for his forearm to be fully healed this time before he goes out and plays, but make no mistake about it — not being able to play is killing him. At least that’s what his mother says.
“All I can say is Robbie is dying to play. He wants to get out there,” Diane Gronkowski told The Boston Herald. “He’s doing what he has to do to get back playing. He doesn’t like it. He wants to play. It really bothers him that he’s not playing.”
Rob apparently wanted to play back in Week 2, which is when the team cleared him to play. But it’s believed that Dr. James Andrews has been consulted on the matter and is responsible for giving Gronkowski clearance to play. Gronk still hasn’t been cleared by Andrews, which explains why he hasn’t played.
Regardless of how the team feels about the matter, I absolutely believe Gronk wants to be out there. And I think he is doing the right thing by waiting. The team didn’t take care of him after he broke his forearm last year and now they’re seeing the consequences. Imagine if he came back too quickly again and broke his forearm for the third time? How would the team feel then? It’s still early enough in the year where they can survive without him and wait until he’s ready. This is the kind of discipline the Redskins needed last year when Robert Griffin III continued to play on his peg leg.
