Drew Rosenhaus, the agent for New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski, dismissed the idea of any friction between Gronkowski and the team over the NFL star's return from injury. Rosenhaus said Gronkowski is still awaiting medical clearance to return to games, but hinted his client could be cleared by the end of the week.
Amidst reports of a growing friction between Gronkowski and the team, Rosenhaus appeared on the "Joe Rose Show" on 560 WQAM Miami and claimed all parties involved are on excellent terms with each other.
"There's a huge difference between being cleared to practice and being cleared to play in a game," Rosenhaus said on Thursday, via ESPN. "I've had great dialogue with Coach Belichick and the Patriots' medical staff and Rob and his family. Everybody's on the same page, except it's gotten a lot of play in the media and all these unsubstantiated sources."
ESPN reported an "uncomfortable" rift between Gronkowski and his teammates, some of whom questioned whether the tight end intends to play at all this season. A report from the Boston Globe suggested Gronkowski may choose to sit out the entire season for money reasons.
Despite the reports, Rosenhaus maintained Gronkowski cannot play in games until he receives clearance from Dr. James Andrews.
"Up to this point, he hasn't been cleared to play in a game," Rosenhaus said on Thursday. "He has not been cleared by Dr. Andrews, who is the supervising doctor."
Rosenhaus added: "All I can tell you [is] it's really straight forward: When Rob is cleared, he'll play. It shouldn't be a big surprise to people that the guy has a very cautious approach right now, because he had four operations on that forearm and he had a back operation."
As for when Gronkowski might return?
"Hopefully he'll be back soon, maybe even this weekend," said Rosenhaus, "but there's no way to know until the end of the week when his doctors make that determination."
Rosenhaus' remarks coincides with a report from Pro Foot Ball Talk, which said Gronkowski is expected to miss "at most" one more game. New England plays the New York Jets on Sunday.
