It's Time to be Concerned with Rob Gronkowski

By Vincent Frank on Tuesday, October 4th 2016
It's Time to be Concerned with Rob Gronkowski

New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski has recorded a grand total of one catch in two games since coming back from a hamstring injury that forced him out for the first two weeks of the season. 

It was easy to chalk this lack of production up to Gronkowski returning from a long layoff and the Patriots having to start rookie third-round pick Jacoby Brissett during these two games. 

Now, another week removed from the injury and with Tom Brady returning from suspension, Gronkowski will be back to his old self. Right? 

Well, that's not exactly a clear-cut conclusion here. According to NFL Media's Mike Garafolo, there's some concern within the Patriots organization that the hamstring still isn't right and that he's simply not himself. 

Over two months have passed since Gronkowski suffered the hammy injury. If he's not okay right now, is this going to impact him for the remainder of the season? 

This upcoming game against the Cleveland Browns should tell us a story. Cleveland has yielded an 82 percent completion rate and the fourth-most fantasy points to tight ends on the season. If the Pats' tight end simply can't produce here, it might be time to get really concerned. 

It really is a rock and a hard place situation for fantasy owners. Gronkowski has been oft-injured throughout his career. But when he's on the field, he's producing at a record clip. Despite these injury concerns, this has played a role in the tight end still being relied on as a Round 1 pick (ADP) in preseason drafts. 

You simply can't move on from Gronkowski because of two or three games. You most definitely can't do that in re-draft leagues unless he's suffered a season-ender. 

You can, however, decide to bench him until everything seems right. Maybe, pick up Martellus Bennett off the waiver wire and attempt to stream the two. Whoever is seeing most of the action, you can go ahead and start. That's magnified with Brady, who absolutely loves his tight ends, under center again in New England. 

In any event, Sunday's game will tell us a story. Should Gronkowski struggle against a bad Browns defense, it might be time to bench him until he proves himself to be healthy and ready to make an impact. 

 

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