Seven weeks into the New England Patriots’ nine-week offseason workout program, quarterback Tom Brady and tight end Rob Gronkowski finally decided to show up.
Brady and Gronkowski were on hand Monday for the Patriots fantasy camp and will be in attendance June 5-7 for mandatory (reality) minicamp.
So, sorry, Patriots defense. You probably won’t look quite as dominant in the next three days of minicamp as you did through two weeks of voluntary organized team activities, when Brady and Gronkowski were absent for, uh, reasons.
Brady said he was making this offseason about his family. Gronkowski, as usual, wants a new contract. It’s unclear why the tight end hasn’t got one yet.
So, what changes with Brady and Gronkowski back in the fold?
First, the Patriots’ wide receivers should begin to stand out a little more. The media has been present for two open organized team activities sessions, and backup quarterbacks Brian Hoyer and Danny Etling have been dumping off more passes to running backs and tight ends than Trent Edwards, Captain Checkdown himself.
That’s meant plenty of opportunities to shine for players like Will Tye, Jacob Hollister and Rex Burkhead, but there’s a receiver roster battle that still needs to shake out. Players like Kenny Britt, Cordarrelle Patterson, Jordan Matthews, Braxton Berrios and Riley McCarron have yet to stand out.
These next three days also will serve as an important time for Brady and the new Patriots skill players to get on the same page. Patterson, Matthews, Berrios, running backs Sony Michel and Jeremy Hill and tight ends Troy Niklas and Ryan Izzo are new to the team and, seemingly, have yet to work with Brady — if they’ve even met him yet.
Britt only was on the Patriots for the last month of last season, and players like Tye and McCarron were on the practice squad last year. It’s unlikely they saw many throws from Brady.
The Patriots’ offense is all about trust and timing. Patriots skill-position players have a short three-day window to get a head start in the trust department before training camp, assuming Brady doesn’t return for the final four days of OTAs next week.
Finally, these next three days will serve as a serious challenge for Patriots young cornerbacks who have stood out in open OTAs thus far.
The Patriots have given Ryan Lewis, Keion Crossen, J.C. Jackson and Duke Dawson time against the first-team offense, and they’ve thrived for the most part. Going against Brady, rather than Hoyer or Etling, is an entirely different animal, however, and it’s likely the Patriots’ defense will be made to look foolish at times during minicamp.
Though players will continue to sit out of the minicamp sessions with injuries, it will be nice to see the Patriots at mostly full strength with Brady and Gronkowski back out on offense. The two open OTAs with Hoyer and Etling at the offensive helm were strange. This week will bring back some normalcy.
