“Usually it takes until year two before players are fully back up to speed after an ACL.” Modern techniques have made it much shorter than that, Mike. We see players playing close to their former level in a year than we ever did before and if rehab is done properly then at a level that is just the same as before the injury. I’m thinking Gronk’s rehab is going to be pretty good and that the coaches will take their time with it. Hope to see him back at the top of his game.

While technical recovery might be okay by 9-12 months I don’t think the player truly feels confident and comfortable on the rebuilt knee until their second season. We saw the dip in Welker’s numbers in 2010, Brady was a little shaky during parts of 2009. Even Revis last year wasn’t fully comfortable yet. Adrian Peterson is probably the only exception that I can think of, where the player came back from ACL surgery within months and was just as good as he was before. I do think Gronk is just the kind of guy who could be back to normal sooner than later.