Fallout From Rob Gronkowski Injury
Rob Gronkowski was placed on IR yesterday, thereby ending his season and casting some doubt on his playing career. Gronk underwent successful back surgery on Friday, but that was his third operation to repair a herniated disc. As Ian Rapoport of NFL.com writes, “Gronkowski herniated his L5-S1 disc while in college in 2009, his L4-5 disc in 2012, and the latest discectomy is almost certainly a reherniation of the L5-S1 disc, given the tingly feeling he experienced through his back and legs.”
The injury is not expected to be career-ending, but assuming Gronkowski does continue playing, he may have to battle through pain for the remainder of his career. At a certain point, he will need to determine how much of an impact taking the field will have on his post-football life, and that determination can only come after difficult conversations with his family, agent, and teammates.
Gronkowski is under contract through the 2019 season at a relative bargain. As Ben Volin of the Boston Globe writes, Gronkowski had some leverage to demand a new contract this past offseason, and despite rumblings that he was unhappy with his current deal–along with some contract talks between the club and agent Drew Rosenhaus–he ultimately did not hold out or exert any sort of pressure on the New England front office. Now, of course, he has no leverage, and although he is scheduled to be paid $19MM over the last two years of his deal, that payout includes no guaranteed money. So while there is no reason for the Pats to move on from Gronk before they give him a chance to reestablish himself in 2017, his long-term future with the club is uncertain.
The Patriots have never considered trading Gronkowski, and his health situation precludes both trade discussions and contract talks for the time being. He potentially could have played in six to eight weeks, but he would not have been himself for a few months, and it made more sense for him to focus on rehab and assure himself, to the extent possible, that he will be ready to go in 2017.
Patriots Place Rob Gronkowski On IR
No miraculous late-January or Super Bowl LI return for Rob Gronkowski will be in the cards this season. The Patriots placed their superstar tight end on IR, ending his seventh NFL season, Field Yates of ESPN.com reports (on Twitter).
New England moved running back D.J. Foster back to the active roster, per Yates (Twitter link). The team already used its IR-return slot on third-string quarterback Jacoby Brissett.
This doesn’t come as a shock after the joint statement released by the Patriots and the tight end’s family pointed to the 27-year-old perennial All-Pro being shelved for the season after back surgery. Gronkowski aggravated his perpetual back issue against the Jets last weekend, and the consequences give the Patriots a higher degree of difficulty in their hopes at a second Super Bowl title in three years.
It’s been another injury-marred season for Gronkowski, who has missed time due to hamstring, chest and now back maladies. Gronk played in eight games this season but only saw extensive action in six of those contests. He’ll wind up missing eight games in 2016, upping his career total of game-day absences to 24. The three-time All-Pro had missed just two games combined over the past two seasons.
Gronkowski will finish with the highest yards-per-reception figure of his career to date, having posted a 21.6 number here — a small sample size, obviously, but one that’s 5.3 higher than his previous career-best mark of 16.3 during 2015. This will also be just the second season the league’s consensus top tight end will finish with fewer than 10 touchdowns. He scored three times this season.
The Patriots advanced to Super Bowl XLVI with an ailing Gronkowski, who sprained his ankle in that year’s AFC championship game, but fell short the following two years after a broken forearm and tears of his ACL and MCL either limited or removed Gronk in the following two seasons’ AFC playoff brackets. His health the past two seasons helped New England to its fourth Super Bowl title, in 2014, or brought the team to the precipice of a title defense. Gronkowski’s dominant finish in the most recent AFC championship game nearly forced overtime in a narrow loss to the Broncos.
Tom Brady‘s numbers decline sharply without Gronkowski available. With Gronkowski since his 2010 arrival, Brady’s completed 65 percent of his passes and boasts a 103.5 quarterback rating. In the 17 games in that span Brady’s played without his potential Hall of Fame tight end his completion percentage drops to 57 percent, with his rating plummeting to 84.4. So, this could shake up the AFC playoff picture. Of course, New England employs a better backup tight end than it did previously, which should soften the blow.
Martellus Bennett will now have a prime chance to score a big free agency payday in ascending to the Patriots’ No. 1 tight end role. New England did not have a similar answer in previous years when Gronk went down.
Patriots Notes: Gronk, Cannon, Foster, FAs
Rob Gronkowski opting against a holdout during the summer continued to limit the historically great tight end’s earning potential, and Ben Volin of the Boston Globe views that decision as costly for the again-injured All-Pro. Gronkowski was coming off two dominant seasons this summer but continued to play on a team-friendly deal signed in 2012, one that will pay him $4.25MM in base salary in 2017.
The 27-year-old dynamo has now seen another significant injury sideline him, shooting down his leverage with the Patriots on a deal that still contains three years — the final two featuring $19MM in nonguaranteed money. Gronk making $14MM in 2016-17 is not only incredibly pedestrian for his fellow tight ends, Volin argues his salary should have been closer to top-end receivers’ than those at a position at which he’s been viewed as the No. 1 talent for the past five years.
Now, 2017 looms as a pivotal year in Gronkowski’s New England timeline, with another comeback perhaps necessary to induce the Pats to keep him in 2018-19 during the nonguaranteed years. Volin also gathers from the joint statement released by the Patriots and Gronkowski’s family the team believed he could return this season but the Gronkowskis want to preserve the seventh-year player’s long-term value.
Here’s more from the perpetual AFC East champions.
- Marcus Cannon will almost certainly be the Patriots’ right tackle in 2017 and 2018, but the full guarantees on the breakout player’s recent extension stop in 2019. The Patriots will have until the third day of the ’19 league year, per Volin, to determine whether or not they want to pay Cannon any more money. Through the end of the ’18 season, Cannon’s deal will pay out a minimum of $16.03MM and a maximum of $17.4MM. Set to turn 29 before next season, Cannon will carry cap numbers of $3.4MM and $6.05MM in 2017-18, with 2019’s figure ballooning to $7.55MM, which should still be a reasonable value as the salary cap continues to rise.
- The Patriots’ roster didn’t seem to need another running back now that Dion Lewis is a game-day regular again, but moving D.J. Foster back to the practice squad did not result the usual financial ramifications for the backup. The UDFA will still make $26,470 this week as opposed to the practice squad minimum of $6,900 per week, Volin notes (on Twitter). New England re-signed Foster to its taxi squad earlier this week after claiming Darius Kilgo on waivers from Denver last weekend.
- Dont’a Hightower should be considered a candidate for the franchise tag, even if the middle linebacker hasn’t shown himself to be tremendously durable, missing eight games in 2014-15, Michael Giardi of CSNNE.com writes. The linebacker franchise tag crept over $14MM this offseason, with pass-rushing OLBs being categorized the same as traditional-type ‘backers, but Giardi notes the Pats tagging Hightower would likely be a stopgap measure while the sides work something out. After all, the team essentially prioritized him after trading potential UFAs Chandler Jones and Jamie Collins.
- There’s a rare win for the players. Alan Branch prevailed in his appeal of a four-game substance-abuse suspension.
Alan Branch Wins Appeal, Won’t Be Suspended
11:15am: How did Branch manage to win his appeal despite testing positive? According to Howe (via Twitter), the positive test “contained traces of pot from a previously failed test.” Therefore, there was “nothing new in Branch’s system.”
10:37am: Patriots defensive tackle Alan Branch has won the appeal of his four-game suspension and will no longer be disciplined for violating the league’s drug policy, reports ESPN Field Yates (via Twitter). Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald reports (via Twitter) that the NFL rescinded the suspension without even hearing Branch’s appeal. The veteran defensive lineman was handed a four-game ban in late November after testing positive for marijuana.
The appeal was a bit of a risk by Branch. If the suspension had been upheld, the 31-year-old would have been suspended immediately, meaning he would have missed crucial late-season or playoff games. Fortunately for Branch and the Patriots, that won’t be the case, as the defensive tackle will be allowed to continue playing. The lineman has started 11 games for the Patriots this season, compiling 39 tackles, one sack, and one forced fumble.
Branch, a 2007 second-round pick, has had a bit of a tumultuous career. Before joining the Patriots, the defensive tackle was cut by the Bills following an arrest for a DUI. Branch subsequently signed with the Patriots, and he played a role in helping the team win the Super Bowl. The team rewarded the lineman with a two-year extension, but he showed up to the following training camp out of shape and overweight. The tackle still managed to have a relatively productive season in 2015, finishing with 35 tackles and one sack. The lineman was also disciplined by the Patriots during this past preseason for violating team rules.
While Branch won his appeal, the initial four-game suspension still implies that the defensive tackle tested positive for marijuana for a fourth time. The veteran is set to be a free agent this offseason, and teams will presumably be cautious of the player’s previous punishments.
With Branch sticking around for the rest of the season, the Patriots could have some interesting roster decisions on their hands. Besides Branch, the Patriots also have defensive tackles Malcom Brown, Vincent Valentine, Woodrow Hamilton, and Darius Kilgo on the roster.
Fitzgerald: Hard To Envision Pats Trading Gronk
- Considering his $7MM cap hit and low salary in 2017, Fitzgerald can’t envision the Patriots trading tight end Rob Gronkowski. We learned earlier this week that the 27-year-old needs back surgery, which should keep him out for the rest of the regular season.
[SOURCE LINK]
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/2/16
Friday’s practice squad changes:
Green Bay Packers
- Signed: QB Joe Callahan
- Cut: WR Dez Stewart
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: QB Stephen Morris
- Cut: DT Kelcy Quarles
New England Patriots
- Signed: FB Glenn Gronkowski
- Cut: TE Kennard Backman
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: WR Marcus Johnson
- Cut: TE Anthony Denham
Jets Notes: Hackenberg, Garoppolo, Raymond
The Jets have a lot of questions to answer at the quarterback position and, at the same time, there are lots of question marks about second-round pick Christian Hackenberg. Hackenberg hasn’t played in any games this season and remains something of a mystery to the Jets.
“I think he’s a developmental player at this point, and there is a lot of talent there. The sky is the limit. But we don’t know yet,” offensive coordinator Chan Gailey said (via Darryl Slater of NJ.com).
Gailey says that Hackenberg has grown in practice, but it is strange that he has not been mentioned as an option in a year where three other QBs have started for the Jets. The Jets could go in a number of directions this offseason, but elevating Hackenberg to starter probably isn’t a viable option.
Here’s more on the Jets:
- Jimmy Garoppolo would be the perfect quarterback for the Jets, but Patriots coach Bill Belichick would never let Gang Green have him, Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News opines. Garoppolo is expected to be dangled this offseason and could fetch a high price for the Pats in a trade. However, the Patriots know better than to let their divisional rivals get a promising 25-year-old quarterback. As Mehta notes, Garoppolo’s value is enhanced by an uninspiring 2017 quarterback draft class that will likely include Notre Dame’s DeShone Kizer, North Carolina’s Mitch Trubisky and Clemson’s DeShaun Watson. Also helping his value is that he is due to make only $820K in 2017. In 2018, the team that has him could apply the franchise tag and hold off on giving him an expensive long-term deal.
- The Jets tried to sign wide receiver Kalif Raymond off of the Broncos’ practice squad last week, Mike Klis of 9News tweets. To keep him, Denver bumped his salary. Then, today, they promoted him to the 53-man roster.
- Yesterday, Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis responded to the retirement rumors surrounding him.
Rob Gronkowski Done For Season?
The Patriots and the family of Rob Gronkowski confirmed in a statement Thursday that the tight end will undergo back surgery Friday. The hope earlier Thursday was that Gronkowski would return during the playoffs, but that’s now in doubt. “We do not expect that he will be able to play for the remainder of the 2016 season, but will await the results of tomorrow’s surgery before making a final determination,” said the two parties (Twitter link).
Rob Gronkowski To Have Back Surgery
Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski needs back surgery, according to a source who spoke with Vic Carucci of The Buffalo News (on Twitter). The surgery is expected to keep Gronk out for eight weeks, which means that he will be out for the remainder of the regular season.
Gronkowski, who has already missed a good chunk of the year to different injuries, suffered a ruptured or herniated disk against Seattle. Between his hamstring, punctured lung, and bad back, Gronk will finish the year with just eight games played and six starts. His 25 catches, 540 yards, and three touchdowns all represent career lows.
Without Gronkowski, the Patriots will lean even more heavily on Martellus Bennett. Behind them is the recently-acquired Matt Lengel, who is more of a blocking tight end. New England could look to add a third tight end to hold them over while Gronkowski is out.
It’s worth noting that the Patriots have already used their IR-DTR slot on reserve quarterback Jacoby Brissett. So, even if Gronk can beat the two month timetable he has been given, he cannot be placed on IR and returned to the active roster.
Patriots Designate QB Jacoby Brissett For Return
Jacoby Brissett is returning to practice today, meaning that he will be the Patriots’ player to be designated for return from the injured reserve list (Twitter link via Ben Volin of The Boston Globe). The Patriots now have 21 days until they have to put him on the 53-man roster or shut him down for the year. 
When Tom Brady accepted his four-game suspension for his role in the Deflategate scandal, the Pats were forced to turn to youngster Jimmy Garoppolo. When Garoppolo was taken out by a big hit from Dolphins linebacker Kiko Alonso, New England elevated Brissett to the starting role. Despite concerns that he was too green for the job – and that included ally Bill Parcells – Brissett was a solid fill-in. Unfortunately, he was slowed by a thumb injury and had surgery for it in early October.
The prevailing thought at the time was that Brissett would be stashed on IR with an eye on 2017. However, the Pats did not have a better candidate for return. Notables like tackle Sebastian Vollmer and Jonathan Freeny technically could have been brought back, but their respective maladies made that impossible.
This offseason, the Patriots could hypothetically trade Garoppolo to a QB-needy team and bump Brissett up to the No. 2 job behind Brady.