Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski both are returning to Gillette Stadium this Sunday night. But will the latter be healthy enough to suit up?
Gronkowski, who took a hard shot to the ribs during last week's loss to the Los Angeles Rams, did not practice Wednesday and was not spotted during the open media portion of Thursday's practice, according to Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times.
X-rays on Gronkowski's ribs came back negative Sunday, and he returned to finish the game. The Bucs could simply be resting their 32-year-old star tight end, but his status bears monitoring. Tampa Bay will practice again Friday before flying to New England for Sunday night's primetime matchup with the New England Patriots.
Gronkowski is off to an excellent start in his second Buccaneers season, catching 16 passes for 184 yards and four touchdowns through the first three games. He played 88% of offensive snaps in Week 1 and 81% in Week 2 before his injury limited him to 62% in his most recent outing.
The Bucs did get wide receiver Antonio Brown back at practice Thursday after he was removed from the reserve/COVID-19 list. Brown, Tampa's No. 3 wideout behind Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, did not play against the Rams.
A total of seven Patriots players were limited in practice Wednesday, including three linebackers, both starting offensive tackles and kicker Nick Folk. Both teams will release injury reports Thursday afternoon.
