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Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski is not expected to play this Sunday against the Jets, according to ESPN's Dianna Russini. Gronk missed last Sunday's game in San Francisco with a lung injury he sustained the week before in a 31-24 loss to the Seahawks, courtesy of a crushing collision with safety Earl Thomas.


Gronkowski, who later underwent tests, said that was the "hardest" he'd ever been hit, and referred to Thomas as "a missile."

"Yeah, that was a big hit for sure; probably one of the hardest I've got hit in my career for sure. [It was] by a good player; a good fast player who's like a missile," Gronkowski said after loss. "It was a good, clean hit; nothing against it. I just took it and it just knocked the wind out of me a little bit, that's all. If you've ever gotten the wind knocked out of you, you know what that feels like. Just down for about a minute or two, it's a little tough to breathe, but once it comes back, you're good. ...

"Yeah, it was a good, clean hit," Gronk continued. I have no problem with it. He hit me fair and square. It's football. You're going to get laid out eventually."

Thomas took to Twitter after learning that Gronkowski suffered an injury in the game.

Meanwhile, the Patriots will lean on their other physical tight end, Martellus Bennett, who had seven catches for 102 yards against the Seahawks, but only hauled in one pass for 14 yards in last Sunday's 30-17 victory in San Francisco.

There are reports that Bennett, who arrived in the offseason via a trade, is in the Pats' long-term plans. When asked about it, he said he was "not really worried about any of that right now," adding, via MassLive.com:

"My money's good. I'm just going through every game and playing football. When they address it, they address it. If they don't, I'm not really worried about it. I have a diverse portfolio, so I'm not really tripping about that. I'm not really worried about that right now. I'm just trying to make plays and continue to play really good football."

Put another way: The Patriots can afford to let Gronkowski get healthy; currently, they're No. 2 in the AFC playoff race behind the upstart Raiders.