Rob Gronkowski not a lock to play?

New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski (87) celebrates a touchdown against the Indianapolis Colts during the first quarter at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

New England Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski was cleared by all doctors to return, and this was announced by Gronkowski’s agent Drew Rosenhaus a couple of days ago. Gronk made the trip to New York with the team and looks set to make his 2013 debut, but Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio reports, citing a league source, that the “final decision” on Gronk’s status has not been made yet. The Patriots are expected to decide whether or not Gronk plays against the Jets this morning, thus Gronkowski is not a lock to play.

That said, I would be very surprised if Gronkowski misses this game, but it was reported last week that it is possible for him to miss Week 7. Per his mom, Gronkowski is “dying to play”, and the belief was that Gronkowski would play once cleared by third party doctor James Andrews. He was cleared by Andrews, but he still hasn’t had official clearance.

All it means at this point is that there is no guarantee that Rob Gronkowski plays in this afternoon’s rivalry matchup, but he will most likely end up playing. In my opinion, he traveled with the team to New York for a reason, so I think the game-time decision coin will flip in the favor of him playing.

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