Pro Football Writers of America: Rob Gronkowski is the Comeback Player of the Year

The Professional Football Writers of America (PFWA) have announced their 2014 Comeback Player of the Year, as voted by the members of the organization. The player who has gotten the most votes comes as no real surprise: Rob Gronkowski. The fifth-year tight end is the third Patriot to win the award; wide receiver Randy Moss won it in 2007, quarterback Tom Brady in 2009.

The PFWA had to say the following about the New England Patriots' star tight end.

Gronkowski missed all of training camp and the first six games of the 2013 season with a back injury. He also suffered a knee injury in Week 15 and was placed on Reserve/Injured prior to the final game of the regular season. Gronkowski’s 39 catches for 592 yards and four touchdowns in 2013 was the lowest output of his career. Back to full health in 2014, he caught 82 passes for 1,124 yards and 12 TDs in 15 games to earn All-Pro honors from the PFWA.

The 25-year old Gronkowski led all tight ends in receiving yards this year with 1,124. Furthermore, he scored 12 touchdowns (tied with Antonio Gates and Julius Thomas for most among tight ends) and thus became the first tight end in NFL history to score 10 touchdowns in four seperate seasons. He was unanimously voted All-Pro by the PFWA.

While individual accolades are nice, Gronkowski (and the rest of the Patriots) undoubtably eye a far more imporant trophy: the Lombardi. They take their next step towards it on Sunday, when the team faces the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC Championship Game.