Patriots Place Rob Gronkowski On Injured Reserve
BOSTON (CBS) -- Rob Gronkowski's season is officially over.
The New England Patriots placed the Pro Bowl tight end on the Injured Reserve on Monday, one day after he was carted off the field after suffering a knee injury midway through the third quarter of Sunday's win over the Browns.
Gronkowski suffered a torn ACL on the play, first reported by Fox Sports' Mike Garafolo. Pro Football Talk reported on Monday that an MRI confirmed a torn ACL for Gronkowski.
"MRI also shows MCL damage for Rob Gronkowski," Pro Football Talk tweeted. "The ACL tear puts him out for the year and will affect his preparation for 2014."
Pro Football Talk also reported that in addition to the knee injury, Gronkowski suffered a "slight" concussion on the play.
The tight end had just caught a pass from Tom Brady when T.J. Ward made a diving tackle. Ward's helmet appeared to hit Gronkowski directly in the right knee, and Gronkowski was in immediate pain.
After several moments lying on the turf, the cart came out to help Gronkowski off the field.
Minutes later, the team announced that Gronkowski wouldn't be returning to the game due to a leg injury.
"I don't know what the circumstances are but we're all there with him. We love him, he's a big part of this team," quarterback Tom Brady said after the 27-26 Patriots win. "It hurts to see any of those guys go down, so certainly with Gronk and we've sustained some pretty big injuries this year with really important, critical players. So we've just got to keep bouncing back. I always say that no one feels sorry for the Patriots, but I think we all feel sorry for Rob. But I don't think anybody feels sorry for the Patriots. But we're with him and we support him."
Gronkowski, 24, missed the first six games of the season as he recovered from offseason surgeries on his arm and back. He has 39 receptions for 592 yards and four touchdowns in his seven games played this year.
The Patriots also announced the signing of tight end D.J. Williams on Monday. Williams, who was released last week, signed with the Patriots on November 27 and saw limited action in New England's win last Sunday at Houston.
