It was rather strange to see the New England Patriots and Rob Gronkowski’s family release a joint statement earlier this week detailing the knee injury the tight end suffered last Sunday against the Denver Broncos. It pretty much went against all we’ve come to know about the Patriots organization.
Patriots president Jonathan Kraft explained the decision before Sunday’s game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Gillette Stadium during his weekly pregame radio appearance on 98.5 The Sports Hub.
“Before the game (against the Broncos) was over, according to (vice president of media relations) Stacey (James), people were saying he was gone for the year. Then within 24 hours, he was going to be back for this game,” Kraft said. “Everybody on the team is really important, but there are a couple of players where the magnitude of interest rises to a whole different level. When you have that type of extreme, we felt putting out a statement that ended mindless speculation (was the right call).”
According to Kraft, everybody in the organization, including head coach Bill Belichick, was completely on board with the decision to release the statement. Belichick, of course, got testy with a reporter earlier this week when asked about the statement.
“I don’t know if Bill likes talking about it when it’s done, but it was completely unanimous and in sync with the team, player and organization,” Kraft said.
Since this isn’t the first time Gronkowski’s family has been mentioned in the handling of an injury involving the three-time Pro Bowl selection, it was reasonable to wonder whether the statement was forced upon the Patriots and whether there was any tension between the sides. But Kraft downplayed there being any rift whatsoever between Gronkowski and the Patriots, saying it’s been “awesome” having Gronk in New England since the moment he was drafted by the franchise in 2010.
“There has never been any friction between Rob and the team,” Kraft said. “Rob, from the day he put on a helmet at the start of the second round and was parading on stage, has been a quintessential Patriot. He works as hard as anyone in the building.”
The Gronkowski injury statement was weird. It just isn’t a big deal, apparently.
Thumbnail photo via Ron Chenoy/USA TODAY Sports Images
