Report: Rob Gronkowski out indefinitely with back injury

boston.com

The Patriots will be without Rob Gronkowski for the rest of their season, as the tight end will be undergoing back surgery, according to ProFootballTalk's Mike Florio.

Per Florio's report, Gronkowski is expected to be out indefinitely.

Bad news for Gronk: Back injury ended up being worse than originally believed. He will have surgery tomorrow, per source.

— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) December 1, 2016

Gronkowski supposedly was supposedly injured in the Patriots' Week 10 loss to Seattle and sat out the following week against San Francisco, but returned this past week against the N.Y. Jets, only to leave with a back injury. He previously underwent back surgery in 2013, and once in college as well, among a litany of other injuries.

As per another report from The Buffalo News' Vic Carucci, Gronkowski's injury timetable is set at eight weeks. That would peg him to return around Jan. 22, 2017 -- coincidentally, the date of the AFC Championship.

With Gronkowski out of the picture, expect Martellus Bennett to be carrying the load at TE the rest of the way.

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