HOUSTON – The Gronk rules are out.
Tight end Rob Gronkowski played in a preseason game Saturday night for the first time in five years, which was even more surprising because the word this week was that he’d remain out of the lineup against the Texans at NRG Stadium. Gronk’s last preseason action was in 2012.
Tom Brady and many healthy starters made their preseason debuts after virtually every prominent veteran was sidelined for the opener against the Jaguars. So it appeared the Patriots wanted Gronkowski to get up to game speed with the starting group.
Gronkowski was still recovering from a broken forearm and back surgery during the 2013 summer and a torn ACL during the 2014 preseason, but he has been a healthy scratch for the most part since 2015.