Getty New England Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski
The New England Patriots went into their Week 11 bye week with a mess to clean up. After taking an ugly loss to the Tennesee Titans, the team had a lot of work to do for when they return back to the field against the New York Jets for Week 12. Fortunately enough, they will get back their star tight end, Rob Gronkowski.
We all know Gronkowski as a physical beast in the Patriots’ passing game as he could be considered their best target on the field, even with Josh Gordon in the picture. The only issue is since Gronk is such a broad target that likes to play a physical game, he tends to take on a lot of unwanted hits that cause wear and tear.
Since 2011, Gronkowski hasn’t been able to get through a full regular season. That’s not to say that he misses a ton of time consistently, but over the last couple of years, Gronkowski has had to sit out around ten games. This season, Gronkowski has only been able to play in seven of ten games in 2018. And after missing the last few games due to a back and ankle injury, it looks like Gronkowski is officially good to go on Sunday for Week 12 against the New York Jets.
Gronkowski Makes His Week 12 Return
Players returning to action today include Ryan Tannehill, Josh Allen, Rob Gronkowski.
Titans’ QB Marcus Mariota also was removed from the injury report and is now slated to start Monday night vs. Texans.
According to ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter, Gronkowski is in the Patriots plans for Sunday’s game. Many speculated that Gronkowski was still a question mark to play, despite his confident press conference at the end of the week where he stated that he was good to go and that he expected to play during Week 12.
The return of Gronk is excellent news for the fantasy owners that have been neglected this season. Aside from a few tight ends in the NFL, a lot of guys are just average contributors to fantasy teams. For Gronkowski, he’s typically drafted early on as he is usually listed as a Tier one tight end. Unfortunately, his injury concerns have made it very difficult for Gronkowski to live up to his offseason value so far in 2018.
Gronkowski fantasy owners should feel quite optimistic moving forward. Not only will he have a favorable matchup against a broken down New York Jets team during Week 12. But Gronk has also had a ton of rest time throughout November, which means he could be well-rested, and set up for tons of success at the New England Patriots are getting ready to make their run for the first seed in the AFC.