Rob Gronkowski May Return This Week For New England Patriots

The New England Patriots' offense has looked subpar in their first two games this season, and definitely need a spark to ignite their normally potent attack. This week, they may get just that, as tight end Rob Gronkowski is a 50-50 shot to play this week, according to sources close to the team.

New England takes on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this week and, while the team may not need Gronkowski to beat the 0-2 Bucs, they certainly want to get him back in sync with Tom Brady and the rest of the first team offense.

Adding Gronk back into the fold will be a huge relief for quarterback Tom Brady, who has been noticeably frustrated with his receivers for their inability to catch passes with regularity, especially in last week's ugly 13-10 loss to the Jets.

This year, Brady and the Patriots have only thrown to their tight ends three times in two weeks, a fraction of their total from the first two weeks of last year, where they threw to tight ends 23 times in their opening two games.

If Gronkowski can get healthy in a hurry, the Patriots should be able to roll through the AFC East this year, rather than just getting by their division rivals like they have been for the last two weeks.