Doctors cleared Rob Gronkowski from concussion protocol Thursday, 11 days after Barry Church’s hit sidelined the Patriots tight end. The league fined the Jaguars safety $24,309 for the hit on a defenseless receiver, but Gronkowski said he holds no animosity.
“It’s football. It is what it is,” Gronkowski said. “I mean, it’s a split second to make a decision. It’s running full speed one way. I’m going the other way. It’s just part of the game. It happens. Just got to move on.”
The hit, which came with 1:23 left in the first half of the AFC Championship Game, left Gronkowski woozy and staggering.
“I’m not here to talk about that, about how ‘shaky-up’ I was and everything,” Gronkowski said. “That will be for another time, because I’ve got a big game coming up with this Super Bowl. But yeah, I had a concussion for sure obviously or else I would have never been in protocol this whole time, for the last 10 days or however long it’s been. Everything’s going good. Just looking forward to the big game now. I’m ready to roll, and that’s all I’m looking forward to.”
Gronkowski never had a doubt he would play Sunday.
“We knew the whole time that I was going to be good to go,” Gronkowski said. “I was progressing really good throughout the week and throughout practice. We just knew I’d be ready, and we’ve just been practicing like we always do.”