Stop me if you have heard this one before. New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski is injured and will miss a significant amount of time. You have heard that phrase uttered by various sportscasters and writers ever since Gronk entered the NFL, but seemingly even more so after he signed a lucrative contract extension with New England. The thing is, that contract was a very team-friendly one, meaning much of the payment is back-loaded. Not only is it a wise salary cap move, but it gives the team leeway to cut the player without having to pay all or even the majority of the money. With that being said, provided his injury history and high salary increasing in 2015 and beyond, could the Patriots release Gronkowski to save a ton of money and rid themselves of the party animal who is extremely injury prone?
Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports says that the move would more than just make sense for New England.
Gronkowski, whose health history led to him signing a team-friendly extension in the first place, has most of the money in this deal tied up from 2016-2019, which at this point he is unlikely to see. Gronkowski is set to make $15 million alone in 2015, in the form of $5 million in salary (which is guaranteed only for injury but not for cap or production purposes), as well as a $10 million option bonus that the Patriots could opt to pick up at any point in the 2015 league year. Numerous sources who reviewed this contract said they highly doubt New England picks up that $10 million option, which would make Gronk a free agent.
La Canfora points to the fact that the Patriots would have only had to have paid Gronkowski an average of roughly $4 million per season if they do decide to cut him by the 2015 season. That would turn out to be a tremendous bargain. If they hold on to him and he continues to miss significant periods of time due to a rash of injuries, he becomes less and less of a bargain with each passing season. And, of all teams, we know that the Patriots will not pay any player who they feel is not worth the numbers in his contract. They operate under the example that almost any player is replaceable.
Aaron Hernandez is in jail awaiting murder charges. Gronkowski is injured and on the sidelines more than he is healthy and on the field. In a short period of time, the Patriots went from an explosive offense featuring two of the top tight ends in the game to a team who struggles to put up points against average defenses.
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