Having missed the last four weeks due to injury, Tampa Bay Buccaneers TE Rob Gronkowski has his eyes set on a potential return in Week 8. As fantasy football managers make the final tweaks to their lineups in preparation for the upcoming week, here is the latest news on Gronkowski and whether or not you should have him in your starting lineups.
Update: Rob Gronkowski has been ruled out of the remainder of the Buccaneers Week 8 matchup with the Saints due to back spasms.
Rob Gronkowski was a man on fire to start the season
Though the first three weeks of the season, only Travis Kelce was off to a better start than Gronk. Tom Brady’s favorite weapon hauled in 16 of 20 targets for 184 yards with a then league-high 4 touchdowns.
Unfortunately for the Buccaneers, this came at a price. In their Week 3 contest against the Los Angeles Rams, Gronkowski took a massive shot to the ribs, which knocked him out of the game for some time before he returned — which is honestly amazing. Further medical checks following the contest revealed Gronkowski suffered four cracked ribs, one broken rib, and a punctured lung, according to Fox Sports Insider Jay Glazer.
The Buccaneers opted not to place Gronkowski on injured reserve, which requires a minimum absence of three games. Luckily enough, however, it appears his return is coming this week.
Gronkowski returned to practice this week and is active for Week 8
Much to the delight of Brady and the Buccaneers’ offense, it appears Gronkowski will indeed be back for Week 8. Gronkowski was a limited participant in all three days of practice this week. When inactives were released, it was announced Gronkowski is indeed active and will play in Week 8 against the Saints. This seemed to be the logical outcome based on what we had heard earlier in the week.
When asked at his press conference on Friday if there is potential for Gronkowski to play, head coach Bruce Arians gave a lengthy reply: “Yep.” He wasn’t kidding.
Gronk’s return could not come soon enough for Tampa Bay as WR Antonio Brown, who has been Brady’s top target, is likely to miss an extended period of time.
Brown is suffering from an ankle injury and did not practice all week. He also missed last week’s game versus Chicago. He was seen with a crutch at practice on Thursday and has already been ruled out for Week 8. With the Tampa Bay’s bye coming in Week 9, there is hope he can come back the following week. Nevertheless, there is growing pessimism as Brown deals with a sprain near his heel. The six-time Pro Bowler has tallied 29 receptions for 418 yards and 4 touchdowns in five games this season, the majority of which (23-280-3) came while Gronkowski was sidelined.
If active, Gronkowski is a must-start for fantasy managers in Week 8
Traditionally, when a player comes back after a lengthy time off due to injury, there is trepidation as the risk of re-injury is always present. However, with Gronkowski, we are not dealing with a soft tissue injury. This is more of a pain tolerance issue.
The tight end position in fantasy is starved for depth. In Tampa, O.J. Howard and Cameron Brate have tried to fill the void. However, there is no replacing the chemistry Gronkowski and Brady have developed over the years.
The Saints are one of the better teams against TEs, allowing the sixth-fewest fantasy points per game to the position (8.68). Yet, they haven’t played anyone of note. The Buccaneers come into this game as 4.5-point favorites. Even if they limit Gronkowski’s snaps, they will use him in high-leverage positions once inside the red zone. Gronkowski will be one of the leading candidates to score a touchdown for the Buccaneers in Week 8. Thus, he is a solid mid-range TE1 that should be started across all platforms.