Rob Gronkowski "not realistic" to play Week 1
Patriots star tight end Rob Gronkowski has gone under the knife an ungodly amount of times since the season's ended. He's had multiple surgeries on his forearm, battled an infection there and just recently underwent back surgery.
He's in rough shape.
Gronk is currently on the PUP list, the real question is whether or not he stays there to begin the regular season (making him ineligible to return until after Week 6). One thing's for sure, he's probably not playing Week 1.
It is “not realistic” to expect Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski to be ready to play regular-season opener at Buffalo, per source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 19, 2013
It's a tired debate at this point. Should the Patriots let Gronk fully recover and then some so that he's ready for the playoffs? Maybe it's not even a debate. The answer is a resounding yes. Especially with rookie tight end Zach Sudfeld coming on, the Patriots might be able to manage without the Gronk in the beginning of the season. If they go with that plan, perhaps they will have a healthy Gronk when it counts for the first time in two years.
