Gronkowski hurt his left ankle while being tackled during the third quarter of the 23-20 win over Baltimore. He was able to return to the contest, but was seen with a walking boot on Monday.

"We'll just have to see," Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said when asked when Gronkowski would be able to practice. "He's not going to practice [Thursday], so take it day-by-day. I'm not going to try to forecast where things will be 10 days from now. We'll just take it day-by-day."

Gronkowski had a record-breaking year for the Patriots, setting an NFL mark for tight ends with 17 touchdown receptions. He also scored once on the ground and finished the campaign with 90 catches -- second on the team behind only Wes Welker's 122 -- for 1,327 yards.

Aaron Hernandez, who was third on the club with 79 catches, is the only other tight end on New England's active roster.

The Patriots signed tight end Carson Butler to the practice squad on Thursday. Butler spent the majority of the 2010 season on New England's practice squad and was released by the Patriots just before the start of the 2011 campaign.