Reports: Rob Gronkowski's injury not believed to be serious

DENVER – The New England Patriots suffered quite a scare on Sunday night.

Rob Gronkowski, the NFL's best tight end, was hit low by Denver Broncos safety Darian Stewart late in the fourth quarter. He immediately writhed on the ground in pain and he left the field on a cart. A few minutes later the Patriots announced Gronkowski was out with a knee injury.

While the initial outlook didn't look good for an already depleted Patriots team, the news after their overtime loss to the Broncos was more promising. Several media reports cited a source saying Gronk's injury was "not serious."

Further tests will be done Monday, but it looks like the Patriots dodged the worst-case scenario. No matter how good the Patriots are — and they're a tremendous team after starting the season 10-0 — it would have been very hard to withstand the Gronkowski injury if it was as serious as it looked.

The hit that took Gronkowski out was like the one that tore his ACL in 2013. Cleveland Browns safety T.J. Ward, who plays for Denver now, dove at Gronkowski's legs on a long pass. Stewart, who went low on Gronkowski in the second quarter too, also went at Gronkowski's legs on the play that knocked out the Patriots' tight end. It's a dangerous play, but defenders have such little chance of tackling the behemoth Gronkowski high that they often go low. Tom Brady said after the game that he didn't believe the hit was dirty.

The Patriots have already lost running back Dion Lewis, receiver Julian Edelman is likely out until the playoffs at least, and receiver Danny Amendola is hurt, too. The Patriots still moved the ball well on Sunday night, considering the snowy conditions, without those players. But a Gronkowski injury is different. He's the most dominant tight end ever, one who in less than six seasons has more touchdowns than any tight end in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He's irreplaceable.

The Patriots have taken on injuries and won Super Bowls before. If anything changes with Gronkowski's status, it will be a massive challenge to do it again.

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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @YahooSchwab