Is Rob Gronkowski playing tonight vs Giants in Week 11?

Rob Gronkowski got off to a huge start to the 2021 season. He had two consecutive games with two touchdowns and his connection with Tom Brady picked up right where it left off.

Unfortunately, then came the injuries. He suffered a serious rib injury in Week 3 that also involved a punctured lung.

That held him out until Week 8, when he only made a brief appearance because of back spasms.

His Tampa Bay Buccaneers are now preparing for a Monday night showdown with the New York Giants to finish up Week 11. The team is free-falling a bit with back-to-back losses and injuries that have hurt the offense.

So will the team have Gronkowski back Monday night?

Will Rob Gronkowski return to play in Week 11?

So far, all signs point toward Gronkowski making his return. ESPN's Adam Schefter shared that update Monday afternoon.

The tight end is set to play given there are no pre-game setbacks. That could mean more back spasms, or just about anything, for a player who has had to overcome countless injuries throughout his NFL career.

His return will be huge at a time when Antonio Brown is still out with an injury of his own. Last week's loss to Washington saw Brady throw for only 220 yards.

Chris Godwin and Mike Evans dominated the receiving game as usual, while Cameron Brate was the only tight end who received any targets.

Gronkowski is good for 6-8 targets per game when healthy and there is no reason for the Buccaneers to ease him back into action given he starts Monday night. He is a veteran player and one of Brady's all-time favorite targets.

That should mean a heavy dose of passes to the tight end, even just to establish a rhythm at the start of the game.

The Buccaneers are not yet desperate for a win. But it is strange to see a Brady-led team go on any sort of losing streak, and a loss to the 3-6 Giants would raise some major red flags among fans.

A win, meanwhile, would give the Buccaneers a two-game lead in the NFC South after the other three teams in the division lost this week.

Gronkowski being back on the field is a huge key to success to get Tampa Bay back to its winning ways in Week 11.

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