Late in the second quarter of Sunday’s AFC Championship Game between the Jacksonville Jaguars and New England Patriots, Rob Gronkowski was forced out of action after taking a big hit to the head by safety Barry Church.
Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski headed to the locker room after taking a big hit before halftime. #AFCChampionship #JAXvsNE pic.twitter.com/I0TEL4ZK7i
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) January 21, 2018
Church was flagged on the play, and Gronkowski appeared to be shaken up.
I feel terrible for Rob Gronkowski but his balance problems were some of the clearest #concussion signs you will ever see. He is done for the day, unless the Patriots and #NFL only want to talk about the concussion protocol for the next week. Here is the hit: pic.twitter.com/vAVir1ptyX
— Chris Nowinski, Ph.D. (@ChrisNowinski1) January 21, 2018
Gronkowski went straight to the sideline and walked right into the locker room for evaluation. He was later ruled out with a concussion at the start of the fourth quarter.
Rob Gronkowski (head) has been downgraded to out. #JAXvsNE
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) January 21, 2018
Before exiting the game, the tight end had caught one pass for 21 yards.