FOXBORO, Mass. — Rob Gronkowski looked bionic in the New England Patriots’ first training camp practice, wearing a padded shield on his left forearm and a sleeve on his right knee. He was on the field, however, which is an extremely positive sign.
Gronkowski was limited Thursday, participating in individual drills but sitting out when the team transitioned to 7-on-7s and 11-on-11s. The tight end was moving well on his surgically repaired ACL, but there’s more injury risk in 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 drills since more players are in close quarters on the field.
Wide receivers Aaron Dobson, Jeremy Gallon and Matthew Slater; cornerback Alfonzo Dennard; linebacker Deontae Skinner and defensive tackles Dominique Easley and Tommy Kelly were present for training camp but not practicing. Those seven players were running agility drills on the sideline and lower field. Offensive lineman Chris Martin was not spotted.
Dennard, Dobson, Gallon, Kelly and Slater are on the physically unable to perform list; Skinner, Easley and Martin are on the non-football injury list.
Roy Finch, who was on NFI, practiced with the Patriots, which means he’ll need to come off that list Thursday.
Photo via USA Today Sports Images
