diff --git a/deepspeed/runtime/pipe/engine.py b/deepspeed/runtime/pipe/engine.py
index 2542dd602b1f..b89c1aca7f2a 100644
--- a/deepspeed/runtime/pipe/engine.py
+++ b/deepspeed/runtime/pipe/engine.py
@@ -988,7 +988,7 @@ def _exec_send_grads(self, buffer_id):
             if isinstance(inputs, tuple):
                 first_input = inputs[0]
                 assert all([torch.is_tensor(elt) for elt in inputs[1:]])
-                inputs_grad_tail = [elt.grad for elt in inputs[1:] if elt.grad is not None]
+                inputs_grad_tail = [elt.grad for elt in inputs[1:]]
             elif torch.is_tensor(inputs):
                 first_input = inputs
                 inputs_grad_tail = []