Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski isn't crazy about the timing of the NFL's Pro Bowl and thinks "that game might need to be changed" if the league would like to avoid a repeat of this year, when a record number of players dropped out.
During a Wednesday night appearance on NFL Network, Gronkowski said the date of the Pro Bowl — Jan. 31 this year — is too quick of a turnaround for players from teams whose seasons ended a week prior during the conference championships. In his case, the Patriots lost 20-18 to the Broncos in the AFC title game Jan. 24.
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"You can’t go from a whole season, AFC championship game, giving it all you got and thinking you’re going to hop on a flight to fly 12 hours to Hawaii that next Tuesday when I still can’t even walk because I took like 20 hits that game," Gronkowski said.
Counting replacements, a record 133 players were selected to the Pro Bowl this season.
That included the seven Patriots who were selected — Gronkowski, quarterback Tom Brady, linebacker Jamie Collins, defensive end Chandler Jones, cornerback Malcolm Butler, special teamer Matthew Slater and kicker Stephen Gostkowski. All of them dropped out for various personal reasons, Gronkowski said.
Television ratings took a plunge because of it. The game, broadcast on ESPN during the Sunday night prime-time slot, drew a 5.0 overnight rating, the fourth consecutive year the rating has dipped. It's believed to be the lowest-rated Pro Bowl in history on any network (ESPN acquired the television rights in 2014; before that, it was on NBC.)
Gronkowski, who played in the AFC championship game despite knee and back injuries, said he needed at least a weeklong buffer to recover from the general wear and tear of the season. For some players' bodies, that period could extend even longer.
“I was not hopping on that plane just be more tight, more sore and just be miserable the whole ride," Gronkowski said. "If it was changed, I mean — I totally understand, if you don’t go to the playoffs you have a few weeks off, Pro Bowl is awesome. But it is hard to go to that game — giving it all you got, then going right to the Pro Bowl. You have to have your body rest.”
Gronk said he has started his offseason workouts already now that he got some rest.
“After the season I am getting my body right,” he said. “I didn’t move out of my house for the first five days until I left for the Senior Bowl to watch my brother (Glenn, a fullback out of Kansas State). But for the first five days I was just taking care of all my injuries, all the bumps and bruises. Making sure your body is right.”
