The New England Patriots are still currently the favorites to win the Super Bowl this year but with that said, it now looks like they’ll being without the services of tight end Rob Gronkowski for at least the next two months.
According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, the recent back injury that Gronkowski suffered is worse than first thought and as result of that he’s getting surgery on Friday.
So, what does an injured Gronkowski mean to the Pittsburgh Steelers? Not a lot, directly, unless the two teams were to ultimately meet in the playoffs. Indirectly, however, it means the Patriots won’t have Gronkowski for their Week 14 game against the Baltimore Ravens, who currently lead the AFC North. That could be a huge blow to the Patriots when it comes to that game and especially being as the Ravens defense has played extremely well so far this season.
Including the playoffs, Gronkowski has missed 21 games due to injury so far during his career and the Patriots are 15-6 in those games, including 3-0 this season. While the Patriots do have another highly productive tight end in Martellus Bennett, he’s been hobbled at times this season with ankle and shoulder injuries.
The Patriots enter Week 13 with a 9-2 record and while they’ve yet to clinch a playoff spot, it’s only a matter of time until that happens.
It will be interesting to see if the Patriots are overcome Gronkowski’s injury and especially when it comes to the playoffs.
