For the fifth week in a row, New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski will be inactive. Various media outlets report that Gronk did not board the team bus as they travel to face the Cincinnati Bengals.
Gronkowski is recovering from back and forearm injuries, and was originally labeled as "questionable" on Friday's injury report. However, reports the past two weeks say that Gronk is targeting a Week Six return against the New Orleans Saints.
Apparently one more week of rest is not needed for wide receiver Danny Amendola, who did board the team bus this afternoon. Amendola has missed each of the past three games while recovering from a groin injury.
Danny Amendola recently said that he was close to 100 percent, and reports came out this week that he looked drastically better during practice. He was listed as questionable on Friday's injury report but it would be a surprise if he were inactive tomorrow, considering the Patriots rarely bring injured players on road games.
It's a huge positive for the offense that Amendola likely makes his return tomorrow. After his heroic effort in Week One against the Buffalo Bills, catching ten passes for 104 yards, he will look to continue his success tomorrow against the Bengals. For Gronkowski, it's disappointing that he will not play, but it is not a pressing need that he rushes back to the field considering New England already has four wins on the season.
After all, it's more important to have Rob Gronkowski healthy in January -- and maybe February -- than it is to have him in Week Five, isn't it?