Getty Rob Gronkowski won't be playing against his former team.
Rob Gronkowski won’t be making the trip to New England after all.
According to a report by ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Saturday, October 2, Gronkowski won’t have his homecoming against the New England Patriots due to his rib injury. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end is officially out for Sunday’s primetime Week 4 matchup against the Patriots.
Early signs were not looking good for Gronkowski’s status entering Sunday’s game. The veteran tight end was listed as doubtful on the team’s Friday injury report, per Greg Auman of The Athletic. He also did not practice all week due to the injury.
The 32-year-old initially suffered the injury due to a jarring hit in Week 3 against the Los Angeles Rams. Although he did leave the game temporarily, he ended up returning shortly after.
Gronkowski currently leads the Buccaneers in touchdown receptions with four this season. His absence means only Tom Brady and Antonio Brown will receive their opportunity at a homecoming in New England in Week 4.
Either Cameron Brate or O.J. Howard will look to step into the starting lineup at tight end versus the Patriots.
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Brady’s Short-Yardage Receiving Options vs. Pats
Without Gronkowski, Brady will now be without two of his top short-yardage receiving options against New England. On Friday, October 1, running back Giovani Bernard was ruled out due to an MCL sprain, according to Carmen Vitali of the Bucs’ official website. Bernard led all Buccaneers receivers with nine receptions on 10 targets in the team’s Week 3 loss to the Rams.
Outside of wide receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, Gronkowski (20 targets) and Bernard (15 targets) lead the team in targets, meaning both options represent safety nets for Brady in the passing game when receivers aren’t open down the field.
The absence of Brady’s top two short passing game targets means Tampa Bay will lean heavily on Leonard Fournette out of the backfield — 12 receptions on 14 targets this season — and likely lean on Brate to fill Gronkowski’s void.
Fournette & Brate Likely to Receive Bulk of Snaps
Fournette has been favored as the overall option and the receiving option over backup running back Ronald Jones. Fournette has seen 99 total snaps with 66 of them as a receiver, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required). Meanwhile, Jones has seen just 44 total offensive snaps, with 21 of them as a receiving option.
Adding even more credibility to the idea that the Bucs will “use Lenny more” in Bernard’s absence is head coach Bruce Arians declaring the preference himself on Tuesday, September 27, according to Auman.
Arians says he won’t know if Gio Bernard can go until Wednesday. He’s dealing with knee injury. He said Bucs would “use Lenny more,” but I initially heard it as that they’d “use Lenny Moore,” which would be awesome.
Through three games this season, Brate only has five receptions on six targets for 43 yards compared to Howard’s two receptions on two targets for 32 yards. However, Brate has seen 72 total snaps — 54 as a receiver — in comparison to Howard’s 31 total snaps, with 14 coming as a receiving option, according to PFF.
In other words, the Buccaneers should feature both tight ends, but with Brate filling Gronkowski’s massive void as a receiver and Howard moreso on the blocking end — especially in goal-line packages and short-yardage sets.
The defending Super Bowl champions are dealing with a plethora of injuries early on in the season. They’ll also be without cornerback Jamel Dean against the Patriots, who is out due to a knee injury. Dean was filling in for injured starter Sean Murphy-Bunting, who is currently on injured reserve due to a dislocated elbow.