Earlier today, it was confirmed Rob Gronkowski of the New England Patriots tore his ACL and MCL during yesterday’s 27-26 victory over the Browns at Gillette Stadium. He was injured on a hit to the knee by Browns’ defensive back T.J Ward. Gronk’s injury may be detrimental to the Patriots’ super bowl aspirations.
On the play, T.J Ward delivered a brutal low hit on Gronkowski, which caused his knee seemed to buckle in an awkward way. The talented tight end to hit the turf hard. This eventually caused him to suffer a minor concussion on top of these injuries.
For the NFL, questions will be raised as to how the league caused this to happen as a result of their insistence upon eliminating hits to the head. The league has tried so hard to eliminate the number of concussions that devastating injuries to the knees have become increasingly more common. Defensive players have lowered their target tackle zone to accommodate knew rules relating to helmet-to-helmet contact.
Since making his season debut during week seven of the regular season, Gronkowski has been shredding opponent defenses, already receiving for 592 yards and four touchdowns. He is one of Tom Brady’s favorite targets, and Gronk is a matchup problem for any opposing defense.
Behind Gronkowski on the New England depth chart is Michael Hoomanawanui and Matthew Mulligan. Also, it was reported today the Patriots have re-signed tight end D.J. Williams. While all three of these players are likely to see the field often, an increased number of three receiver sets should be expected of the injury-riddled Patriots team. Hopefully for Patriots fans, the “next man up” philosophy will be effective after losing one of the few players on the roster that the team could not afford to lose.
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