Philadelphia Eagles face another challenge in Super Bowl LII with Rob Gronkowski

Rob Gronkowski clearing concussion protocol on Thursday means the Philadelphia Eagles will face the tight end in Super Bowl LII after all.

Even though he’s been in concussion protocol since the AFC Championship against the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Philadelphia Eagles seemed confident all along that Rob Gronkowski would be healthy enough to participate in Super Bowl LII. Luckily, the New England Patriots had an extra week to provide their beloved tight end with more time to recover since the argument can be made that Gronkowski wouldn’t have been able to play last Sunday, but also this news that he’s cleared concussion protocol shouldn’t come as that much of a surprise to the Eagles.

If anything, it’s safe to assume that Philadelphia has been preparing all along as if Gronkowski would be in the lineup for New England on Sunday since, as previously mentioned, the extra week works to his advantage from a recovery standpoint. At the time, it was a crushing blow for the Patriots’ offense to lose Gronkowski the way they did against the Jaguars since it’s no secret he’s arguably the most dangerous pass-catching tight end the NFL has to offer, but also is just another example of how dangerous the unit can still be without him.

Gronkowski’s enormous size and strength provide him with a major advantage over his opponents, and the Eagles understand the importance of keeping the football out of his hands, or he’s going to make the defense pay for it. Not to mention, New England is loaded with plenty of other dangerous weapons on offense ranging from Danny Amendola to Brandin Cooks, meaning the extra attention on Gronkowski could result in some of his teammates seeing more passes thrown in their direction.

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Either way, as good as Gronkowski has been throughout his stellar career, the Eagles should still feel confident about their ability to keep the effective pass-catching tight end in check since there’s a reason why Jim Schwartz‘s unit has been considered one of the best the NFL has to offer. Stopping Gronkowski is going to be challenging when looking at all of the defenders he’s been able to plow through over the years, but for a defense that has only allowed 17 points combined in two games this postseason, Philadelphia will be ready come Sunday.