Rob Gronkowski After Missing Preseason: ‘I’m Ready For Some Of The Action’

USA Today

As arguably one of the best tight ends in the game, Rob Gronkowski is extremely valuable to the New England Patriots. The veteran’s presence on the field is so important to the Patriots coaching staff that head coach Bill Belichick and company chose not to play Gronkowski during the NFL preseason to avoid risking injury.

The defending Super Bowl champions will host the Pittsburgh Steelers in the NFL season opener on Thursday at Gillette Stadium. Gronkowski recently spoke about finally be able to get back on the football field, via Mike Reiss of ESPN:

“I’m feeling good and I’m just super excited,” he added. “I’ve been playing for a while now, so I’m still used to the hits even though I didn’t get hit for a couple months now. I know what they’re like. I’m ready for some of the action.”

With Gronkowski’s injury history, and the recent rash of season-ending injuries to Jordy Nelson and Kelvin Benjamin, keeping him off the field throughout the preseason may have been a smart move. Gronkowski has not played a full 16 games over the last three seasons, but did play 15 regular season games last year.

Gronkowski also talked about looking forward to feeling that first hit of the season, via Reiss:

“You always like to feel that hit, it feels good to get hit — it’s a physical game,” he said. “So once that first hit goes, it’s just like any other time, you just keep playing the game. It comes naturally, feels good.”

New England will head into the 2015 NFL season has identical Super Bowl 50 odds with the Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks at 15/2, according to Sportsbook.ag. The Indianapolis Colts are sitting behind the Patriots in the AFC with 9/1 odds.