Rob Gronkowski has looked like the Gronk of old during the New England Patriots’ run to Super Bowl LIII, as the star tight end reportedly finally is feeling 100 percent after the majority of his season was plagued by back, ankle and Achilles injuries.
Many put Gronkowski’s injury-plagued season on the beating he’s taken over the course of his career, but perhaps there’s another reason the 29-year-old was more susceptible to injuries this season: his trainer, Alex Guerrero.
Gronkowski is a devout follower of Guerrero and the “TB12 Method,” and the Patriots reportedly believe that has something to do with tight end arriving at camp “not as strong, not as fast and less explosive” than normal, according to NFL Media’ Mike Giardi, citing sources.
“Internally, the Patriots feel like Gronkowski brought some of this on himself,” Giardi said. “During the offseason, when he reported, he came in not as strong, not as fast, and not as explosive and while he had a very good first game against the Houston Texas then all of sudden the injuries popped up: to the ankle, to the Achilles, to the back. The Patriots feel as though if he had done it their way, as opposed to the TB12 way, which Gronk is devoted to, maybe things would have been different.”
Gronkowski flirted with retirement last offseason and many expect Super Bowl LIII to be his final run in a Patriots uniform. The future Hall of Famer finally looked like his old self in New England’s AFC Championship Game win over the Kansas City Chiefs, showing the athleticism to go up and win one-on-one battles on the outside and the quickness and toughness to catch a ball over the middle and break tackles for extra yards.
Now that he’s 100 percent healthy, Gronkowski appears poised for a big game in what could be his NFL swan song.
