Rob Gronkowski injury updates don’t shed much light on his playing status

New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski won’t play against the New York Jets in Week 12.

Or he might.

This sums up the confusion around Gronk well.

ESPN’s Dianna Russini reported Wednesday Gronk wouldn’t play:

Rob Gronkowski is not expected to play this Sunday against the Jets. The Patriots staff is prepping the offense without him per sources

— Dianna Russini (@diannaESPN) November 23, 2016

Which is fine…except Gronk showed up at practice, per ESPN’s Mike Reiss:

Video: Rob Gronkowski loosens up at practice. pic.twitter.com/W3qPKvYsVR

— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) November 23, 2016

For those out of the loop, Gronk suffered a punctured lung against the Seattle Seahawks. He played through the injury then, which makes this all the more confusing.

And while the Patriots might be prepping the offense without Gronk in mind, inserting him at the last second wouldn’t exactly hurt the attack. In fact, given the matchup nightmare he is, Gronk would be an incredible distraction opening up the planned attack.

So while things sound grim for Gronk, he hasn’t been officially ruled out. His suddenly showing up and playing would be about as expected as it gets for a team coached by Bill Belichick.