Pats Beat: 'Wouldn't be surprised' if TE Rob Gronkowski sits Week 2

Sep 17, 2016

New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski is officially questionable for Sunday's home opener against the Miami Dolphins, and several followers on Twitter have asked my thoughts on if he'll play.

Based on what I saw in a limited peek at practice this week, my feeling is that it wouldn't be a surprise if Gronkowski remains sidelined. He is still limited. For example, when players went through a gauntlet in which teammates whacked them with pads in an attempt to jar the ball free, Gronkowski only played the role of the "whacker" and never ran through.

Fantasy Impact:

Former Pats assistant coach Michael Lombardi was quoted in the story as saying Bill Belichick's philosophy is if a player is injured a team is better off playing a backup. That may especially be true in Week 2 after coming off a Week 1 win without Tom Brady. It's only one opinion, but owners should prepare a backup plan.

yesterday

Cowboys TE Jake Ferguson officially Out for Week 12

Adam Schefter

yesterday · 4:12 PM EST

Cowboys list TE Jake Ferguson as out for Sunday’s game vs. Washington due to his concussion.

Related Players: Luke Schoonmaker

Fantasy Impact:

This puts Schoonmaker more or less in TE streaming consideration, but there are far better options this week, which puts him low on the totem pole.

Eagles WR DeVonta Smith officially Out for Week 12

Mike Garafolo

yesterday · 4:04 PM EST

Eagles ruled out WR DeVonta Smith (hamstring) for Sunday against the Rams.

Related Players: A.J. Brown, Jahan Dotson, Johnny Wilson, Dallas Goedert

Fantasy Impact:

It's a bit of a crapshoot as to who the "WR2" on the offense will be, but now that he's ruled out, Brown and Goedert should get a nice boost to their bottom line. That would lock Goedert into a no-doubt TE1 role in Week 12.