The Indianapolis Colts are going to be short handed on Thursday night against the Patriots, with seven players listed as out and another six guys listed as questionable, which only makes this news worse for Indy: Rob Gronkowski is likely to play.

The Patriots announced their inactives in the run up to kickoff, and Gronk was not among them. The tight end had been questionable all week after missing practice on Monday and Tuesday and returning in a limited fashion on Wednesday. 

The Patriots obviously saw enough to activate him, although as Mike Giardi of NFL Media reports, with significant portions of Gronk's contract tied to incentives, including playing time and performance bonuses, it's possible the tight end also pushed to get back on the field. 

Gronk had a monster Week 1, catching seven passes for 123 yards and a touchdown against the Texans at home. Since then he's been quiet, totaling just 110 yards on 10 catches with no touchdowns in the last three games. 

This was particularly noteworthy because of how teams are defending him: basically opponents started doubling Gronk and daring guys like Chris Hogan and Philip Dorsett to beat them in 1-on-1 coverage. It didn't work out well for the Patriots, although Week 4's beatdown of the Dolphins may have been more about gamescript than anything else. 

For Indianapolis, the idea of draping two guys on Gronk is even more difficult because Tom Brady gets another weapon back. Julian Edelman, suspended for four games to start the season after a PED violation, will make his 2018 debut against the Colts on Thursday night. 

It is actually the first time Edelman will be on the field for the Pats since the 2016 season, thanks to the wide receiver missing the entire 2017 season with a torn ACL he suffered in the preseason.

Gronk went down late in the 2016 season, which means Brady's two favorite bros have not shared the field together for this Patriots offense since Week 12 of the 2016 season. 

Despite the presence of Gronk and the return of Edelman and half the Colts roster being banged up, the line movement on this game is curious: there is no movement.

The Patriots were 10-point favorites to open and it's hung there for a while. It's still sitting there, even with the news that T.Y. Hilton wouldn't be playing for Indy. Andrew Luck will be throwing to a group of wide receivers who are not easily identifiable to the average football fan. 

The Colts will still have revenge to play for: after Patriots OC Josh McDaniels left them hanging at the alter, the rivalry is back on. They just have to upend their "rivals" with a limited group of players and the Patriots slowly returning to full strength.