Gronk to have back surgery

[JR4]

New England Patriots Blog - ESPN Boston

hope Ballard is as good as some think.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap1000000207740/article/patriots-rob-gronkowski-to-have-back-surgery

 

[Jackson 2]

Here come the obituaries...

 

[Brady2Moss]

So is this good news?

 

[TruthSeeker]

I think worst case scenario, he begins the season on the PUP. BUT, my main concern is the long term effects physically and mentally on Gronk. One ankle surgery, 4 forearm surgeries, and 2 back surgeries all before he's 24 years old. How will that effect his on field play ?, will he be worried about his arm and back while playing and lose what made him an all pro TE ?

 

[Salva135]

We are ****ed.

 

[Brady2Gronk]

I think worst case scenario, he begins the season on the PUP. BUT, my main concern is the long term effects physically and mentally on Gronk. One ankle surgery, 4 forearm surgeries, and 2 back surgeries all before he's 24 years old. How will that effect his on field play ?, will he be worried about his arm and back while playing and lose what made him an all pro TE ?

I kind of hope he is placed on the PUP list so he can fully recover.

 

[resdubwhite]

most likely pup. Need him at his best latter half of the season.

 

[Archeryaddict12]

From my understanding this isn't a must need surgery. It's during the down tune to insure he will be fine. Gronk we all know will be fine when on the field. If Tom can develop chemistry with the others, we could have a monster O.

 

[DaBronxPats14]

Man what's next?! Hopefully Gronk will get proper care and hope again for speedy recovery. Gonna be interesting to see how our re-vamped offense clicks, what combinations work. Go Git'm Brady!

 

[patriot lifer]

I think worst case scenario, he begins the season on the PUP. BUT, my main concern is the long term effects physically and mentally on Gronk. One ankle surgery, 4 forearm surgeries, and 2 back surgeries all before he's 24 years old. How will that effect his on field play ?, will he be worried about his arm and back while playing and lose what made him an all pro TE ?

This is a good point. We signed him through the decade but the long-term doesn't look as promising with such frequent surgeries. Granted, this off-season is by far his worst.

It sounds like he'll only miss the beginning of TC from what one report said. But I think we'd all agree, that he should have whatever time he needs off for the betterment of this team in the latter half of the season.

The first seven games of the season are:

1. At bills
2. Jets
3. Bucs
4. At Falcons
5. At Bengals
6. Saints
7. Jets

It's odd we play the Jets twice this early, but so be it. It'd be nice to have him return for the second game and be at 100%. We don't play the Ravens, Texans, or Broncos until weeks 12-16. The Steelers are on week 9, with a bye week thereafter.

It's not the end of the world if he starts on PUP since the toughest teams in the AFC are in the latter half of the season. And 3 out of the 4 inter-conference games are in the first 6 weeks. But it really isn't an easy schedule no matter how you slice and dice it.

 

[BradyFTW!]

Well that sucks. PUP looking more likely, at this point. It really depends on when Gronk is ready, though. He's valuable enough that the Pats will wait as long as they can, probably, to make that call. Hopefully he's there for at least some of training camp; otherwise, this is an awfully long time to go without being on the field or being able to work out fully.

 

[Urgent]

Too bad.

I assume the delay in this is due to the infection. I can state from experience - you want to avoid infection in the spinal column under all circumstances. Very bad, lifelong complications.

It's possible he might project to start the season, but probably more likely that he misses a couple. If he projects to missing two or three games, the Patriots might skip in-season PUP. Certainly will be on off-season PUP during the opening of training camp.

As most will agree, the Patriots would rather have a healthy Gronkowski in January than August.

Good luck, big guy.

 

[Armchair Quarterback]

This is not new news, they've known about it for a while.

 

[Drake&BarmoreFTW]

We are ****ed.

In what way?

 

[RobAllan]

Dude missed time last year, will have had 2 surgeries this offseason, with most of the exercise coming from removing shirts and lifting bottle to mouth. Even when he comes back, the likelihood he is in peak shape is small, I would think.

I'll take 80% Gronk any day over almost anyone else, but I think expectations should not only be tempered due to timetable but also conditioning and lack of practice. We're not "f*****" but it's definitely confirmation of badness on the Gronk front.

Good luck Gronk!

 

[PatsFanSince74]

What I see is a very talented guy who plays a rough and violent sport and who is now trying to hold onto his professional career and also be able to have a good physical quality of life after football. I care far less about what this means for the Patriots than about what it means for him, his family and friends.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

We are ****ed.

Huh? We?

Are you having back surgery? Are you coming off multiple injuries and surgeries? Are you depending on your football skills for your livelihood? Is your family dependent on him? Are your hopes and dreams for NFL greatness possibly fading away?

Get some perspective! It's not "we" who are (or may be) ****ed. It's a young man in his prime.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

Too bad.

I assume the delay in this is due to the infection. I can state from experience - you want to avoid infection in the spinal column under all circumstances. Very bad, lifelong complications.

It's possible he might project to start the season, but probably more likely that he misses a couple. If he projects to missing two or three games, the Patriots might skip in-season PUP. Certainly will be on off-season PUP during the opening of training camp.

As most will agree, the Patriots would rather have a healthy Gronkowski in January than August.

Good luck, big guy.

Sensible post.
Note folks that as mentioned above the Pats have the option of first putting him on the pre-season PUP which does not mandate missing ANY in season games. As the cut to the 53 deadline approaches, the Pats can make their best medical assessment with all the data at that time and estimate if he needs so many weeks to get football ready that he's best PUPed for the 1st 6 weeks of the season. In any case, from this selfish fan's viewpoint, I want to see a healthy Gronk in the winter for the playoffs.

 

[IllegalContact]

yeah.......so?


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkWhC-d8_0I



this......he may not be as quick or get the yac, but man, jake ballards got some hands.......and he block quite well

 

[Bruins29]

Active PUP likely if they need to ease him in. Reserve PUP I am not so sure about. I think they would just leave him on the roster. Sure, he needs rest for his back/arm whatever but one thing about reserve PUP is that he cant practice. Leave him on the roster and he can come back at any time and practice the whole time.

BB has left injured players on the active roster before. A player this good would be worth keeping on the roster perhaps unless they see a dire need elsewhere.