FOXBOROUGH — Let’s start with the question Patriots fans are desperate to know: Will star tight end Rob Gronkowski play in Super Bowl LII in two weeks?
Gronkowski was not spotted in the Patriots’ locker room Monday, a day after absorbing a scary helmet-to-helmet hit in the team’s 24-20 victory over the Jaguars in the AFC Championship game.
Gronkowski was evaluated for a head injury after the hit and, according to multiple reports, entered the NFL’s concussion protocol. If that’s the case, the league has a five-step process that Gronkowski and the Patriots must follow in order to determine if he is healthy enough to play Feb. 4.
Coach Bill Belichick refuses to talk about injuries, a long-standing policy. But Patriots wide receiver Matthew Slater said Monday Gronkowski “was in good spirits when I spoke to him today.”
That the tight end left the field under his own power after the blow is a “positive sign,” according to sports neurologist Vernon Williams, a consulting physician with the Los Angeles Rams.
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