Conflicting reports circulated Monday night regarding the health of New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski. His head coach declined to shed any light on the situation Tuesday morning.
“I don’t have anything to add,” Bill Belichick said in a conference call with reporters. “Players aren’t in (Tuesday). We’ll put out our (injury) report Wednesday after we practice and see what happens on Wednesday.”
NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport initially reported, citing a source, that Gronkowski suffered what was believed to be a punctured lung during Sunday night’s 31-24 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. A few hours later, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported the Patriots tight end hadn’t punctured a lung but rather sustained a chest injury that was considered “not overly serious.”
Gronkowski’s injury apparently was serious enough to prevent him from flying to New York for a promotional appearance, however, according to a report Tuesday from the Boston Herald’s Jeff Howe.
The Patriots play each of their next two games on the road, including a trip to San Francisco this Sunday.
Gronkowski briefly left Sunday’s game after absorbing a massive hit from Seahawks safety Earl Thomas — a hit Gronkowski called one of the hardest he’d ever taken. He sat out four snaps, then returned to the field and proceeded to play the rest of the game, finishing with three catches for 56 yards.
Thumbnail photo via Kevin Hoffman/USA TODAY Sports Images
