Gronk Watch 2013: Resentment in the Locker Room?

I hate to pull a Felger and harp on the negative after such an amazing day in New England sports, but the Rob Gronkowski saga continues to make waves.

The latest comes from a report by ESPN's Ed Werder. According to Werder, tension is building in the Patriots locker room over Gronk's status, as his teammates are reportedly having trouble reconciling his domination in practice with his unavailability on game days.

"There's curiosity and resentment, and he's creating it by going out and kicking ass during the week and then he doesn't show up on game day and help the team win" said Werder's source.

According to multiple sources, Gronk was "dominant" all week while playing the role of Jimmy Graham on the scout team. However, impartial third party Dr. James Andrews declined to give Gronk medical clearance, leaving the tight end inactive once again on Sunday.

This leaves more questions than answers. If Gronk is healthy enough to dominate Aqib Talib in practice, what is keeping Dr. Andrews from clearing him? Likewise, if there are legitimate medical concerns keeping Gronk from game action, why is he out there in full-contact practices?

"If he's not playing in games, he damn sure should not be doing what he is in practice" said Werder's source.

While no one has come out and publicly put the tight end on blast, it's easy to see some signs of frustration in his teammate's post game reactions. Guard Logan Mankins, who previously defended the tight end as "a big meathead who likes to party and play football" during the infamous summer of Gronk, had this to say when asked about Werder's report:

 "You know, that was a huge win. We uh -- I'd rather talk about the guys that frickin' put it on the line tonight and played their butts off and how about K.T. making a huge catch, Brady throwing a perfect ball, the defense stepping it up, Gostkowski making big field goals; let's talk about those guys."

When pressed further on the subject being a distraction, Mankins said this:

 "Not to us. We come in, game plan, work hard at practice. The guys that are there, they're there; the guys that aren't, they're not."

The mere presence of Dr. Andrews in this mess hints at the reported disconnect between Gronkowski and the team's medical staff. From afar, Gronk seems to have legitimate reason to distrust Patriots team doctor Thomas Gill. Reports surfaced last week that there are "serious concerns" about the integrity of Gronk's forearm bone after infections developed following a surgery performed by Gill in November. The infection would result in three additional surgeries on the left forearm and might have been caused by a bone-weakening abscess.

Considering that information (and Dr. Gill's shortsighted decision to clear Gronk's December 30 return), it's hard to blame Gronkowski for being extra cautious, especially when judging the recommendations of Dr. Gill and his staff. However, it's curious that Andrews won't clear Gronk for game action despite the forearm being tested daily in practice. Most concerning is the reports about the integrity of Gronk's forearm bone; if that is what is preventing Andrews from granting clearance, this situation could drag on even longer.

With that said, all could be easily forgiven as long as Gronkowski is "Gronk" once he returns. It's hard to imagine any resentment lingering once Gronk is contributing his weekly touchdowns and spikes to Patriot wins, especially since the tight end has developed a well-deserved reputation as a gym rat. The issues seem to be with the team's medical staff (lets remember here that Dr. Gill was a central figure in the 2010 Jacoby Ellsbury ribs debacle as well), not the front office.

Patriots owner Robert Kraft defended his All-Pro tight end once again on Sunday, saying:

"Look, he's a young man that has had a number of different operations and I just want to make clear, cause I know the media has a job to do. Our first concern is his health and safety and doing what's in his best interest long-term. And he's the only one who can decide when he's ready to play and we're completely behind whatever his decision is. Obviously all of us would like him to come as soon as possible. But we're not going to let our short-term desire impede what's right for the long-term."

That last line, "we're not going to let our short-term desire impede what's right for the long-term", is what's most important in the Gronkowski saga. Obviously, the most important priority for both the Patriots and Gronkowski is making sure the tight end can continue to be a dominant tight end in the future. The question now isn't whether Gronkowski is, as his teammates believe, capable of playing and playing well; by all reports he's proven that for several weeks in practice. The questions are as follows: what prevented the universally respected Dr. Andrews from clearing Gronk and, if the answer is the integrity of Gronk's forearm, what kind of development will it take for Andrews to give Gronk the go ahead?