Rob Gronkowski won’t be making the trip to New England after all.
According to a report by ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Gronkowski won’t have his homecoming against the New England Patriots due to his rib injury. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end is officially out for Sunday’s game against the Patriots.
Signs were not looking good for Gronkowski’s status entering Sunday’s game. The veteran tight end was listed as doubtful on Friday, October 1st in the team’s injury report, via Greg Auman of The Athletic. He also did not practice all week due to the injury.
The 32-year-old tight end initially suffered the injury due to a jarring hit in Week 3 against the Los Angeles Rams. Although he did leave the game temporarily, he ended up returning shortly after.
Gronkowski currently leads the Buccaneers in touchdown receptions with four this season. His absence means that only Tom Brady and Antonio Brown will receive their opportunity at a homecoming in New England on Sunday night.
Either Cameron Brate or O.J. Howard will look to step in to the starting lineup versus the Patriots.
Without Gronkowski, Brady loses two of his top short-yardage receiving options against New England. On Friday, October 1, running back Giovani Bernard was ruled out due to a slight MCL sprain. Bernard led all Buccaneers receivers with nine receptions on 10 targets in the team’s Week 3 loss to the Rams.
Outside of wide receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, Gronkowski (20 targets) and Bernard (15 targets) lead the team in targets, meaning both options represent safety nets for Brady in the passing game when receivers aren’t open down the field.
The injury absences of Brady’s top two short passing game targets meaning Tampa Bay will lean heavily on Leonard Fournette out of the backfield — 12 receptions on 14 targets this season — and likely lean on Brate to fill Gronkowski’s void.
Fournette has been favored as the overall option and the receiving option over backup running back Ronald Jones. Fournette has seen 99 total snaps with 66 of them as a receiver. Meanwhile, Jones has seen just 44 total offensive snaps, with 21 of them as a receiving option.
Adding even more credibility to the idea that the Bucs will lean on Fournette in Bernard’s absence is head coach Bruce Arians declaring the preference himself on Tuesday, September 27.
Through three games this season, Brate only has five receptions on six targets for 43 yards compared to Howard’s two receptions on two targets for 32 yards. However, Brate has seen 72 total snaps — 54 as a receiver — in comparison to Howard’s 31 total snaps, with 14 coming as a receiving option, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required).
In other words, the Buccaneers should feature both tight ends, but with Brate filling Gronkowski’s massive void as a receiver and Howard moreso on the blocking end — especially in goal-line package and short-yardage sets.
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