Brady and Gronk out at Patriots organized team activities

By Ross Kelly May 21, 2018 at 2:24pm

The New England Patriots began organized team activities on Monday, but the team’s two biggest stars were nowhere to be found.

Both Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski were not present for Monday’s workout, and while one’s return is imminent, the other’s is less clear.

Gronk is expected to show up at some point during OTAs, and it appears his contract is what’s keeping him out. After flirting with retirement during the offseason, he confirmed in April that he will return in 2018.

When he will return isn’t certain, but it appears that May 24 is a popular date that just happens to coincide with when his contract is expected to be restructured.

A contract restructure with Rob Gronkowski is currently being worked on. If it has incentives like last year, per NFL rules it can't be done until May 24th (1 year from when he restructured his last deal). That’s a date to keep an eye on. Patriots third OTA is also on May 24th

— James Palmer (@JamesPalmerTV) May 21, 2018

Regardless if he shows up on Thursday or waits until one of the later OTA dates, it appears that Gronk is at least content with his current situation with the Patriots.

The same can’t be said for the face of the franchise.

Brady has skipped all of the Patriots’ offseason program, and while OTAs are voluntary, they mark the first time that players can meet as a team and do football-specific drills.

The earlier phases of the offseason program were mainly for strength and conditioning, but the phase that started Monday includes seven-on-seven and 11-on-11 drills.

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Brady attended OTAs last season, but it’s clear he doesn’t think the organization appreciates him as much as he believes it should.

He infamously said, “I plead the Fifth,” when asked if he felt properly appreciated during an interview three weeks ago, and not showing up for OTAs is another sign that there’s some unhappiness from his part.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter said while Brady will return at some point, his absence is sending a message to the Patriots.

.@AdamSchefter thinks that Tom Brady not participating in the Patriots OTAs is a red flag. pic.twitter.com/xGAr0dfOpx

— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) May 21, 2018

“The fact that he’s not there, I think it’s fair to wonder: Why is he not there? He’s healthy. It’s a strange situation,” Schefter said. “There’s been a lot of grumblings, a lot of murmurs, a lot of whispering that he could be unhappy with certain situations there, and I think the fact that he’s not there, that speaks in and of itself and makes its own statement.

“He’s gonna be there when it counts. He’s gonna be there when it matters. So in the grand scheme of things is it a huge deal? No, but I think it’s a red flag that says, ‘All is not perfectly well.'”

The Patriots will have 10 offseason workout dates between now and June 15. They’ll hold mandatory minicamp June 5-7 and training camp will open in mid-July.

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