Rob Gronkowski Injury: Patriots tight end not expected to play against Eagles

The New England Patriots won't have starting tight end Rob Gronkowski when they play the Philadelphia Eagles this week, according to a report from ESPN's Adam Schefter.

Rob Gronkowski not expected to play Sun vs. Eagles, per sources. Likely to miss multiple weeks; return date will be a pain tolerance issue.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 30, 2015

Gronk suffered a knee bruise during New England's loss to the Denver Broncos on Sunday night. The injury looked really bad at the time since Gronk had to be carted off. Now his injury status is being described as week-to-week.

Normally, the Patriots not having Gronk would be a big deal. He's the best receiving weapon Tom Brady has, especially with Danny Amendola and Julian Edelman banged up. But the Eagles' defense has been so bad lately that it probably doesn't matter whether the Pats have Gronk or not. Philadelphia allowed 45 points to both the Buccaneers and Lions last week. It's hard to imagine the Birds standing much of a chance playing on the road against the 10-1 Patriots.