Rob Gronkowski Injury: New England Patriots TE will get more snaps

New England Patriots star tight end Rob Gronkowski has been eased into things to start the 2014 season, as the Patriots are always going to be cautious with him whenever he comes back from a major injury. This year, Gronkowski was still recovering from an ACL tear that he suffered last last season against the Cleveland Browns, but he’s always made good progress and finally looks poised to resume his usual role in the offense. It couldn’t come at a better time, as the Patriots offense didn’t look good against the Oakland Raiders and will face a better AFC West defense this week in the Kansas City Chiefs.

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According to the Boston Herald’s Jeff Howe, Gronkowski indicated that he’ll get more snaps going forward now that he’s made sufficient progress health-wise from his ACL tear so far in the first three  games of the season, “I’ve been in about three games deep now. So basically, it’s just progressing every week, but it’s getting to the point where we can start rolling more and more.”

Gronk has received 38, 28, and 46 snaps in the team’s first three contests, and it would be a big surprise if he doesn’t clear 50 against the Chiefs this week. In those snaps, Gronk has hauled in 11 receptions for 116 yards and two touchdowns, so the Patriots have, as expected, restricted his snaps to more critical situations such as red zone targets. Once his snap count goes up, so will the Patriots effectiveness on offense.