Welker injured his knee at the end of the 2009 season and was questionable for Game 1 all during the preseason. Gronk injured his knee just about nine months ago; that is not a long time for recovery. We've seen guys like Adrian Peterson defy nature, but over 90% of the time players are not back to full strength for a full year if not two. All we really know now is that Gronk did have a superhuman recovery like Peterson. My guess is that no one really knows how far along he is until he starts running full speed and participating in contact drills. It may be truly be a gametime decision for Week 1 and beyond. That said, the Patriots have a bunch of winnable games at the beginning of the year and have won plenty of games without him. I'd rather have him start late and be in optimum condition for the late season/playoffs.
Hey, don't I feel like I've already written the same thread the last two offseasons =) ?