Patriots Mankins and Jones Among Those at Practice Wednesday

[PatsWickedPissah]

So now Gronk is really bionic. Wicked Pissah!

 

[supafly]

Will we see Gronk before the playoffs?

No. Absolutely not.

I can't imagine any scenario where they would risk bringing him back before the playoffs, and that's "if" he would even be able to go anyway. We already won the division and are guaranteed a playoff spot. There's no sense at all in bringing him back early to try and secure a bye, which may be won/lost for the most part in the next 2 games anyway.

Bringing him back for the Jags or Dolphins game would not be the smartest of moves, especially due to the nature of the injury where the bone is broken on the outside and has very little blood flow to begin with. That bone needs to heal properly and fully, and I don't see how he'd possibly be ready to go before one of the last 2 games anyway, if not the regular season finale.

If we have to play in the WC round it would be January 4th/5th, which would be the better part of 6-7 weeks. If we receive the bye he wouldn't have to come back until Jan.11th/12th, which would be 7-8 full weeks of recovery and the best case scenario.

 

[supafly]

I think he'll be back long before the 2nd round. The 49er game next week will mark 4 weeks since the injury so he could very realistically be back by then. Worst case scenario IMO is the following week or final regular season game.

At the very earliest, we'll be seeing him next week.

Unfortunately there's no way in hell fellas.

Put it completely out of your minds in all seriousness. The nature of his injury makes it impossible. I didn't initially realize that it was the outside of the arm, due to there being a lack of information.

There's no way he can play next Sunday vs SF, as that is only 9 days away.

Bringing him back for the JAX/MIA games probably won't be the way that Belichick goes, although Wicked Pissah makes a point that he could potentially see limited reps in the Dolphins game in a best case scenario.

It's looking like the playoffs, and it's looking like we'd better hope that it's the divisional round and not the wildcard game.

 

[JarOfMayo51]

No. Absolutely not.

I can't imagine any scenario where they would risk bringing him back before the playoffs, and that's "if" he would even be able to go anyway. We already won the division and are guaranteed a playoff spot. There's no sense at all in bringing him back early to try and secure a bye, which may be won/lost for the most part in the next 2 games anyway.

Bringing him back for the Jags or Dolphins game would not be the smartest of moves, especially due to the nature of the injury where the bone is broken on the outside and has very little blood flow to begin with. That bone needs to heal properly and fully, and I don't see how he'd possibly be ready to go before one of the last 2 games anyway, if not the regular season finale.

If we have to play in the WC round it would be January 4th/5th, which would be the better part of 6-7 weeks. If we receive the bye he wouldn't have to come back until Jan.11th/12th, which would be 7-8 full weeks of recovery and the best case scenario.

If he can safely return, they need him in before the playoffs to knock the rust off and get back in sync with the offense.. You don't want his first game back in real action in a single elimination playoff game.

 

[supafly]

If he can safely return, they need him in before the playoffs to knock the rust off and get back in sync with the offense.. You don't want his first game back in real action in a single elimination playoff game.

While that is certainly a very good point, the injury itself is what the main concern is.

When you shatter the outside of the arm bone (Ulna) it is an injury that must complete its healing to deter any future side effects or problems.

Since the last 2 games are against the Jags and Dolphins (at home), it would probably make sense just to hold him out until the post-season games start, which at this point should be considered the "real" season.

An argument for your theory and Pats Wicked Pissah certainly makes sense, which is to bring him back in a limited role for the MIA game. Of course that may be an option, depending upon how his injury is progressing at that point.

The main argument to waiting would be the hopes of securing a divisonal round game right off the bat, which would give him an extra 2 weeks after the Dolphins game.

 

[goheels22002]

He might come back for the week 17 game in a limited role to shake off some rust and get some game timing back. They can protect that arm from further damage if the fracture is not too extensive and has mended sufficiently.

They're fine without him, though, and should err on the side of caution.

 

[supafly]

He might come back for the week 17 game in a limited role to shake off some rust and get some game timing back. They can protect that arm from further damage if the fracture is not too extensive and has mended sufficiently.

They're fine without him, though, and should err on the side of caution.

I think this point of view sums it up very nicely.

Let's hope for a full recovery, with some positive news around Christmas or so. We will make things a lot easier by having his services in the playoff tournament. Until then, they'll have to make due without his services.

The positive is that signs should point to his being here for an effective postseason, unlike last year.