The New England Patriots would love to see the return of Rob Gronkowski to the offense and so would Tom Brady, but it won't be this week against the Atlanta Falcons, as both the tight end and Danny Amendola will be out for the game against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 4 on Sunday night football.
According to ESPN.com, Gronkowski has appeared to be ready to return this week after not having any setbacks while practicing with the team, but reports have said that the team and Gronk's family are at odds about when he will be back in the lineup. The report says that the family wants to make sure that Gronk is fully healthy before returning and since the team is 3-0, they want to wait a bit longer before getting him back to game speed.
This is a look at the tight end situation heading into the season for the New England Patriots to compare how it looks now for the team with Rob Gronkowski if he returns soon. Check back here on Sunday night to see if Gronk ends up playing and more on Zach Sudfeld and his past potential as a sleeper before getting injured.
The New England Patriots are heading into Week 1 against the Buffalo Bills with a new look at tight end after Rob Gronkowski was injured last season and Aaron Hernandez was lost to a murder trial and now fantasy owners have locked in on Zach Sudfeld, as he appears to be a starting option for Gronk until he returns.
Head coach Bill Belichick said that Gronkowski was kept on the 53-man active roster since he is close to being ready and did not need the PUP list, but it appears doubtful that he will be ready for the first game against the Bills. Belichick did not put a timetable on Gronkowski's return and that has some fantasy owners reeling, as many expected him to be back for week 1 despite his surgeries in the offseason.
Gronk is coming back from multiple forearm surgeries and back surgery and while he practiced in full pads with the team leading up to the first game, he will not be active on the field for the Patriots. ESPN.com reports that Gronk also likely will not be available to play against the New York Jets in Week 2, making Week 3 at the earliest his possible return date, but that could be up in the air as well. Belichick has no problem using Sudfeld at tight end, as he released Jake Ballard and Daniel Fells, two players that fantasy owners thought could have stepped in for Gronk early in the season.
Gronk likely would have gone higher in drafts has he been healthy, but he dipped down into the fourth and fifth rounds and smart fantasy owners have pounced on him, while other have tried to handcuff him with Sudfeld. Gronkowski is on the active roster and that is a good sign and even with his injury issues last season he had 790 yards and over 50 catches while leading all players at TE with 11 touchdowns and he already is starting to put up Hall of Fame numbers at the position.
Hernandez is gone from the offense forever after likely committing murder and Sudfeld could be a nice security blanket for Tom Brady as he breaks in Danny Amendola and rookies Aaron Dobson and Kenbrell Thompkins. Sudfeld came from Nevada, where he played 13 games and made over 40 catches for nearly 600 yards and after scoring eight touchdowns in college, he could be very productive as a rookie in the offense. Gronkowski missed time last season and so did Hernandez and now Brady knows how to deal with missing his playmakers and that could come back to help both sides in 2013 when he finally returns.
The team has a number of sleepers in names like Thompkins, Sudfeld and Shane Vereen at running back and all accounts have him getting involved in the passing offense this season as well. Sudfeld could be a huge catch for fantasy owners if Gronkowski can't get back onto the field in a timely fashion and the Patriots will be fine balancing things between the run and the pass, as they ranked in the top 10 in average yards per game in both areas last season.
Sudfeld could put up great numbers in the first two weeks against the Bills and Jets and the Bucs are coming in with a defense that ranked last in the league in passing yards per game in Week 3. The team plays straight through into Week 10 when they have their bye and with two games against the Jets and one against the Saints, Brady and Sudfeld could put up big numbers together until Gronk returns full strength.
