FOXBORO, Mass. — New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski cut his first news conference since returning from a one-game suspension short Friday after less than three minutes.
Gronkowski walked off the podium after answering seven questions about the suspension.
Gronkowski earned the one-game ban for a late hit on Buffalo Bills cornerback Tre’Davious White in Week 13. The Patriots lost their Week 14 matchup 27-20 to the Miami Dolphins and struggled offensively without Gronkowski on the field.
Gronkowski will be back in Week 15 when the Patriots travel to Pittsburgh to take on the Steelers.
Here’s the full transcript of Gronkowski’s news conference before he walked off:
Q: What have you learned from the suspension?
RG: Definitely, definitely — learned about it. But not really here right now — big game Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers. I’m just really putting my focus on them right now. Definitely learned from the mistake I made, for sure, a couple weeks ago, the last game I played in. But we got a huge game this Sunday. We got a huge game as a team this Sunday, so just putting all my focus into the Steelers this week.
Q: Did you reach out to Tre’Davious White to try to personally apologize to him?
RG: I’m just focused on the Steelers.
Q: How nice was it for you this week to get back into the facility and be around the guys?
RG: It was super good. I definitely missed it, missed the boys, but it’s super good to be back, back to the normal schedule. Feels good. We’ve had a couple good days of practice, super cold out, but it’s a big game we’ve got this Sunday. Big preparation, and we’ve gotta be ready.
Q: Do you want to make it up to your teammates by bringing energy in your return?
RG: Yeah, it’s always good to have energy. It’s always good to bring energy. Always good to give people energy to feed off, feed off other people’s energy. We’ve got to go out this Sunday and get some energy going and be ready. We’ve got a good team — we’ve got a good challenge in front of us.We’ve got a good team we’re playing, so we’ve got to be ready.
Q: How did you spend the week away?
RG: I was just chilling.
Q: Did you watch the game?
RG: Of course.
Q: Was it hard not being there?
RG: Big game this Sunday. Thank you, guys. I’m out.
