TE Rob Gronkowski among limited at Wednesday's Patriots' practice

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. -- Rob Gronkowski was limited at Patriots practice on Wednesday, according to the official pool report.

The Patriots tight end, who has been in the NFL concussion protocol since suffering a head injury in the AFC title game against the Jags, was “red-jerseyed” on Wednesday, said coach Bill Belichick.

“He’s working his way back,” Belichick said of Gronkowski. During his daily press conference, the coach reversed himself, saying Gronkowski was not in a red jersey.

Also limited were defensive linemen Deatrich Wise (concussion) and Malcom Brown (foot).

The pool report also detailed a handful of other things:

—Wednesday will be their only fully-padded practice session. It was a two-hour session.

—Tom Brady was wearing black tape on his right hand. He practiced in full and led the offense through passing and red-zone drills to start, then situational 11-on-11 football.

—The up-tempo practice included receivers running routes and catching deep balls from Brady to start. The offense transitioned into a red-zone period, then went straight to 11-on-11, with the noise cranking up before every snap. Special teams took over for kick returns, and later field goals. After additional 11-on-11 work, Brady and the offense closed it out with a two-minute drill.

—The Patriots will practice at the Vikings' facility at the same time Thursday and will have two more daily sessions before Sunday’s game.

Belichick said that the goal of practice this week is the same as it is back in Foxborough.

"Again, it varies during the season -- short weeks, long weeks,” Belichick said. “But we had a week in Foxboro and now it's kind of our day to hit the tempo here and tomorrow will be a little less, Friday will be a little less.

“We're getting there,” he added. “Every year is a little bit different because we're a little bit different and the team we play is a little bit different. But I think we're doing the best we can.”

BSJ analysis: So is Gronkowski back?



Gronkowski's limited status certainly an encouraging sign for Patriots fans when it comes to his availability on Sunday, especially when stacked against the multiple DNPs he took last week back in Foxborough. While it's our understanding that he's already completed four of the five steps in the process, his presence at practice on Wednesday and his appearance at the Microsoft event on Tuesday night bodes well for his return in time for the game.