Report: Patriots' Gronkowski unlikely to miss more than 1 game with knee injury

All indications continue to be that Rob Gronkowski avoided a significant injury in Sunday night's loss to the Denver Broncos.

The New England Patriots' star tight end, who was carted off after taking a hit to his right knee in the fourth quarter, is considered unlikely to miss more than one game, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reports.

It's also reportedly possible Gronkowski is able to suit up for next week's game against the Philadelphia Eagles and avert a stint on the sidelines altogether.

Either way, the Patriots appear to have dodged a major bullet with the news that the league's most dominant tight end should be available down the stretch.

A high-powered Patriots offense had already lost Dion Lewis, Julian Edelman, and Danny Amendola to injury in recent weeks, and a long-term absence for Gronkowski would have had the potential to derail a promising season.

His continued presence, along with the potential return of Amendola in the coming weeks and Edelman in time for the postseason, should give Tom Brady more than enough targets to have New England remain the clear Super Bowl favorite in the AFC.