Rob Gronkowski. (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
BOSTON (WBZ-AM) -- The last time Rob Gronkowski played all 16 regular season games in a year was 2011. It's been a while. Last year, the tight end missed a pair of contests, though still exceeded 1,000 yards and totaled eight touchdowns among his 69 catches.
The Patriots have won their first two preseason games, but the 29-year-old hasn't played in either. Gronkowski said he'll be ready for Friday's game in Carolina if he's needed.
"It's always the coach's decision on whether or not I play in these games or not," he said. "I'm ready at all times. I mean, whatever it is this week, I don't know the situation, but I'm ready to play, if I have to play, I'm ready to do whatever I get asked. So I'll prepare all week like I'm gonna play, like I do every other week."
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The regular season begins September 9th against the Texans, and Gronkowski wouldn't mind getting some more reps in with Tom Brady.
"You always want practice reps, and no matter how good you are, how great the chemistry you think it is, you can always get better, no matter what," he said. "There's always so much detail in football. No matter what, you can get better. Even if you think you have it down, you can keep working to get better."
Watching him all these years, that's hard to imagine.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Adam Kaufman (@AdamMKaufman) reports