FOXBORO, Mass. — Jimmy Garoppolo is a month away from his first career NFL start, and he has the trust of his most important target.
Garoppolo, who will start the first four games of the Patriots’ season, is splitting time between New England’s first- and second-team offenses this summer, but he’s received plenty of reps with tight end Rob Gronkowski, who feels he’s on the same page as the third-year QB.
“The indication is just coming out to practice every day and working hard, coming out, getting on the same page, throwing together, going out there together in team drills, hitting passes,” Gronkowski said Wednesday. “It’s all going well. The chemistry is definitely there, and we’re all on the same page of where we need to be, how we need to run things, so it’s all going smooth.”
Garoppolo already is at the point of having non-verbal communication with his receivers.
“It’s kind of a feel thing,” Garoppolo said Wednesday. “You read their body language, you know what they’re going to do before they do it, type of thing. I think as a quarterback, it’s a good feeling when before the ball’s even snapped, you know what this guy is going to do before he even does it. It’s just a comforting feeling.”
Gronkowski has the utmost confidence in his young QB.
“I would say after a few years now of being together, going into our third year, we definitely have the feel of each other,” Gronkowski said. “I definitely know when I come out of a break where the ball is going to be with him. He knows where I’m going to be, so we’re definitely on the same page, and we definitely felt each other out now to the point where we know what to expect.”
Gronkowski hasn’t played in a preseason game since 2012, so he might have to continue to develop chemistry with Garoppolo during practice. When Gronkowski was asked if he is going to play Thursday in the Patriots’ preseason opener with the Saints, he said he’s preparing to, but it’s “coaches decision, baby.”
Thumbnail photo via Winslow Townson/USA TODAY Sports Images
