All Systems Gronk

Patriots' tight end Rob Gronkowski has been cleared to practice with training camp set to begin tomorrow. Whether or not the oft-injured tight end can play an entire season remains to be seen.

Michael Parente (@michaelparente)

On the eve of training camp, New England Patriots’ head coach Bill Belichick announced oft-injured tight end Rob Gronkowski has been cleared to play and will not be placed on the physically unable to perform list.

This is major news for the Patriots, who formally begin camp tomorrow and play their first preseason game Aug. 7 in Washington. Barring any setbacks from offseason surgery on his right ACL in January, Gronkowski should be ready for the regular-season opener Sept. 7 in Miami.

Last week, Gronkowski told reporters he plans on playing the entire season, but that remains to be seen. His injury history since 2011 has been well documented. In fact, his troubles began in 2008 in college when he missed an entire season due to a bulging disc in his back.
 
His troubles as a pro began three years ago when he sprained his right ankle in a playoff win over Baltimore and was limited in New England’s Super Bowl loss to the Giants. The following season, he broke his forearm in November in a blowout win over the Colts, but returned at the end of the season, only to break it again in a playoff win against Houston.

During the 2013 offseason, Gronkowski went under the knife twice, first to clear up an infection with the broken forearm in May and again in June to repair an unspecified back injury. He returned in October, about a quarter of the way into the regular season, and caught four touchdown passes until tearing his ACL in December in a win over Cleveland.

With Gronkowski in the lineup, the Patriots are one of the most feared offensive teams in the NFL. The 6-foot-6, 265-pound Gronkowski set single-season NFL records for touchdowns (17) and receiving yards (1,327) by a tight end in 2011 while teamed with former Patriot Aaron Hernandez. He only played 18 games in the past two seasons due to injury. Without him in the lineup last year, the Patriots’ tight end production dropped considerably. They ranked 28th in the league in touchdowns by tight ends, 29th in receptions and 23rd in receiving yards in the nine games he missed.

With Hernandez out of the picture as he awaits trail on murder charges, the cupboard’s bare once you get past Gronkowski. Five-year vet Michael Hoomanawanui started 10 games last year in Gronkowski’s absence and caught just 12 passes for 136 yards as the Patriots shifted more toward running the football without having a legitimate two-tight end set to utilize.

Hoomanawanui is back in the fold this year, as is former Buccaneer and 49er Nate Byham, four-year vet D.J. Williams and undrafted rookie free agents Asa Watson and Justin Jones. The Patriots did not select a tight in this year’s draft, nor did they pursue any other options on the free-agent market. Their success at that position begins and ends with Gronkowski, who hopes to play a full season for the first time in three years.

Prior to the start of the 2012 season, Gronkowski signed a six-year, $54 million contract extension with the Patriots, which, at the time, was the largest contract ever for a tight end. That’s since been dwarfed by Jimmy Graham’s 4-year, $40 million deal with the Saints, which includes $21 million in guaranteed money. Gronkowski is due a base salary of $3.75 million in 2014, plus a $250,000 workout bonus. His base salary of $4.75 million for 2015 is only guaranteed if he’s on the roster on the fifth day of the league year, which is mid-March. 

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