Rob Gronkowski has been suspended by the NFL for a hit against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday (Dec. 3). Gronkowski immediately filed an appeal with the league, but that appeal was denied, meaning he will now miss a Week 14 game against the Miami Dolphins. The New England Patriots will have to play without their starting tight end, but quarterback Tom Brady has led this team through adversity in the past.

As the NFL had reported, Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski was suspended for one game for a late hit on defenseless Buffalo Bills cornerback Tre’Davious White. White had intercepted a pass thrown by Tom Brady and was knocked to the ground on the sidelines. After he was clearly down, Gronkowski launched himself into the back of White’s head while he was lying on the ground.

Gronk tried to appeal the suspension

An appointed arbitrator (Derrick Brooks) ruled on the appeal, upholding the suspension as it had been dictated by the league. White was injured on the play and is now in the NFL concussion protocol as a result of the violent hit by Gronkowski.

The injury likely led to the severity of the punishment and Gronkowski will be officially suspended without pay. NFL VP of football operations Jon Rynyan wrote about the decision. The game he will miss comes on Monday (Dec. 11) and is against the Miami Dolphins.

"Your actions were not incidental, could have been avoided and placed the opposing player at risk of serious injury. The Competition Committee has clearly expressed its goal of 'eliminating flagrant hits that have no place in our game.' Those hits include the play you were involved in yesterday."

Social media reactions not kind

Social media exploded with a lot of negative commentary about the hit by Gronkowski on White. A lot of people were even stating that the next team to play against Gronk should intentionally try to injure him.

While this is a line of thinking that would solve nothing, it showed how angry NFL fans were about his hit. It's safe to assume that there will be a lot of booing when the Patriots next head to Buffalo to play the Bills.

More NFL news

The Seattle Seahawks really beat up on the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 13 to take back a playoff spot in the NFC. The Seahawks now have a good shot to catch the Los Angeles Rams for first place in the NFC West. Also, Darrelle Revis is back, signing a deal with the Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs needed to add some depth to their secondary.