Gronk ‘good to go’ after illness
FOXBORO — Following a lengthy road trip to Colorado and Mexico City, Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski is happy to be back in a more familiar setting.
He took an extra day to get back onto the practice field, missing Wednesday’s practice with an illness that he said passed quickly. He returned as a limited participant on Thursday.
Yesterday, Gronkowski declared himself “good to go” and was taken off the injury report for tomorrow’s matchup with the Miami Dolphins at Gillette Stadium.
He said the extra rest has helped get him back up to speed.
“Being on the road for 10 days definitely changes up your routine a little bit. You’re not living at home, you’re living out of a hotel and it definitely does take a little toll. But I feel like we’ve caught up,” Gronkowski said. “I feel like I’ve caught up, got some sleep, had a little more rest yesterday being that it was a shorter day on Thanksgiving and just feeling good now.
“We had a good practice out there (yesterday). Everyone was in sync.”
Of the three divisional opponents, Miami has had the best success against Brady, if being 9-20 in games against the Patriots quarterback can be considered success. Miami has held Brady to the lowest completion percentage and fewest yards per game while sacking him and intercepting him more often.
How Gronkowski is used tomorrow will be varied, from lining up out wide to staying in to pass protect, and expect him to chip defensive end Cameron Wake before going out on routes.
“It’s tight end. It’s a position where you’ve got to be able to do it all in the run game, pass game, running routes and pass protection,” Gronkowski said about the potential of staying in to protect the quarterback against a defensive front that figures to bring pressure for much of the afternoon.
“I’m cool with whatever coaches call, and there ain’t nothing better than being in pass protection and seeing Tom go deep and seeing a receiver catch it.”
With five of the final six games remaining against divisional opponents, Gronkowski said that execution is of the utmost importance because of the familiarity between the teams.
Gronkowski had seven receptions for 111 yards in the wins over Denver and Oakland, but was held without a touchdown. With Brady at quarterback, Gronkowski has not gone three straight games without a TD since 2011.