Arizona tight end Rob Gronkowski missed the entire 2009 season after undergoing back surgery. In response to a recent report from NFLDraftScout.com that Gronkowski has spinal stenosis -- the condition that ended Michael Irvin’s career prematurely -- agent Drew Rosenhaus says that Gronkowski is fine.
“Every team I have talked to says there are no concerns about his back,” Rosenhaus told Jamison Hensley of the Baltimore Sun. “He passed his physical at the combine. There are no red flags on him. He is ready to go. The back is not a factor. There’s no issue.”
In 2009, there was an issue; doctors shaved off a disk that was sticking out and onto his spinal cord. His rehab kept him from working out at the Scouting Combine.
But if he has a condition as serious as spinal stenosis, doctors would know it. And they’d be explaining to him the potential risks of playing football. The diagnosis means that the patient’s spine is narrow, and that a routine hit can cause paralysis.
With all the money spent on the pre-draft procedures and examinations, it’s fair to say that anyone who picks Gronkowski knows or should know the truth. If they don’t, and if his career is truncated due to the injury, then the G.M. who picks him had better hope that he can tap dance effectively when the owner wants to know what in the hell happened.
And if there are doctors out there who know or should know that Gronkowski has spinal stenosis and they are telling him to go ahead and play without advising him of the possible risks, we hope their malpractice premiums have been paid.