Although he missed the Patriots’ Week 7 victory over the Bears, tight end Rob Gronkowski is expected to return when New England faces Buffalo in Week 8, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
Gronkowski never even made the Patriots’ team flight to Chicago, as he’s currently dealing with back and ankle injuries. Back issues, of course, have been a recurring problem for Gronk ever since he entered the league in 2010, but that apparently won’t keep him out of next week’s game. He’ll have an extra day to get ready, as the Patriots are playing on Monday night in Week 8.
While the Patriots managed to pull out a victory against Chicago without Gronkowski, New England’s offense is clearly a more well-rounded unit with its All-Pro tight end on the field. Gronkowski also has $3.3MM in performance-based incentives built into his contract, and every missed contest deprives Gronk a chance to boost his yearly statistics. Additionally, he collects roughly $109K via a bonus for each game he’s active.
Without Gronkowski available, the Patriots turned to Dwayne Allen as their top tight end against the Bears. Fellow tight end Jacob Hollister may have played a role had he not also been inactive with a hamstring injury.