Rob Gronkowski will undergo back surgery in mid-June, and it sounds like any hope of him being ready for Week 1 is slim. The projected 12-week recovery timetable indicates he won't be available to play until late September.
That's what the Boston Herald is reporting, anyway, with the possibility of Gronk opening the season on the PUP list a real one. If that happens, he'd be out for at least the first six weeks of the season.
It's a significant blow to the star tight end's fantasy value, obviously, and will create an interesting dilemma in drafts. At what point does Gronk fall far enough that you select him, then get by with an alternate tight end for the first month or so of the season?
It's not certain, of course, that Gronkowski will end up on the PUP list, but it sure looks like a reasonable possibility. The Patriots aren't a team that necessarily needs Gronkowski to win a few games in September; they want him healthy for later in the season, when they're playing to get into the Super Bowl. Is there any reason for them to rush him back onto the field in Week 1?
Gronk's absence for any length of time increases Aaron Hernandez's value, but it also opens up a lot of snaps for a second tight end -- probably Jake Ballard or Michael Hoomanawanui. That player won't come close to Gronkowski's production, but New England will continue to run a lot of the same things with two tight ends, so whoever wins that job would have some value.
--Andy Richardson