The New England Patriots are coming off of their first loss of the season after losing on the road to the Cincinnati Bengals and after quarterback Tom Brady had his streak of consecutive games with a touchdown snapped, he could be getting one of his best weapons back as Rob Gronkowski could be back on the field for Week 6.
According to ESPN.com, while Gronkowski has not been officially ruled in or out of the game on Sunday, it is looking more and more likely that he will be in the starting lineup. The report says that the Patriots have been working with the renowned Dr. James Andrews as an "independent" consultant to make sure that Gronk is ready and it appears that the tight end will be cleared to play for the game against the Saints on Sunday, which could be one of the best matchups of the season.
Brady has struggled without Gronkowski and that was evident last week against the Bengals, as he ended his streak of throwing a touchdown pass. Gronk is one of the best targets in the redzone for Brady and he caught 11 touchdown passes last season despite missing time with an injury. The team has suffered on offense despite going 4-1 and now the team looks poised to get its best weapon back into the lineup. Brady's streak was over 50 games and now he will have to look to start a new one against what is a 5-0 Saints team with an improved defense from the 2012 season.
Gronkowski could be a huge addition to the offense, as Danny Amendola was injured for multiple games before returning, while of course Aaron Hernandez is missing because he was released due to his murder arrest. The Patriots could not muster up much offense against the Bengals in the 13-6 victory and now he will get the chance to be on the field again for the first time since the playoffs against the Texans last season.
Gronk was initially hurt during the season and then returned for the final game of the year against the Dolphins before getting injured against the Texans. Gronkowski had multiple surgeries in the offseason on his arm and on his back and after starting to practice with the team over the past couple weeks, he appears ready to finally get back in the lineup for the Patriots.
The team is ranked 21st in passing yards per game and 14th in rushing and now they will be facing off against a tough Saints defense that currently ranks in the top 15 in passing yards allowed per game after starting off in the top five over the first three games of the year.
