FOXBORO, Mass. — For the first time this offseason, Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski joined their New England Patriots teammates for practice Tuesday morning.
Brady and Gronkowski both participated in Day 1 of mandatory minicamp after skipping the voluntary portion of New England’s offseason program, including the team’s first six full-team practices.
“It’s good to have all the players here,” Patriots coach Bill Belichick said before practice. “It’s always good to work with all the players.”
Asked whether not having its quarterback and its star tight end on the field during organized team activities hurt the squad, Belichick stressed that players are not mandated to attend OTAs.
“The OTA system is voluntary,” Belichick said. “… It’s a voluntary program.”
Belichick added he’s “always had a good relationship with Tom.”
Asked to describe his relationship with Gronkowski, Belichick responded: “Yeah, you’d have to talk to Rob about that.”
Patriots mandatory minicamp runs through Thursday. The team then will hold four additional voluntary OTAs before breaking for the summer.
“Everybody is out here,” Belichick said. “Again, myself, all the coaches, all the players, we’re all doing the same thing. We’re trying to get ready for the season and take every day, every opportunity we can to put ourself in the best position to have a good training camp and have a good season. We’re all doing the same thing.”
