Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski picked late Tuesday night, and after a friendly game of Madden 18 with Eagles running back and former teammate LeGarrette Blount, to drop a bomb on Super Bowl LII.
Hounded by reporters asking him if he thinks he will be able to play in this Sunday's Super Bowl showdown with the Eagles, it took two asks before Gronkowski, currently on the shelf with a concussion, cracked with a smile and a simple "yes." The reporter then asked the question another three times, and Gronkowski's answer remained the same.
While somewhat expected given his return to the practice field last weekend, as well an earlier report from WEEI's Kirk Minihane, it's an obviously huge leap for Gronkowski to make. Especially as he remains in the NFL concussion protocol, where he's been since absorbing a vicious hit from the Jaguars' Barry Church in the AFC Championship Game on Jan. 21.
But that's something the 28-year-old apparently expects to be out by Wednesday.
"Hopefully by tomorrow," Gronkowski, who missed last year's Super Bowl with a back injury, said when asked when he'll be out of the league's concussion protocol. "We'll see how it goes. I'm not the guy to say I'm out of the protocol. That's the doctors' calls."
