Return of Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski adds electricity to Patriots' Tuesday minicamp workout

FOXBOROUGH — It was like neither of them missed a beat.

Within minutes of Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski being back on the field in Foxborough on Tuesday morning, the two hooked up on an impressive intermediate pass, one that was hauled in by Gronkowski over Jordan Richards. The tight end made the grab and high-stepped away from Richards, hooting all the way.

Yo soy fiesta, indeed.


After an eventful spring that saw both of them decide to stay away for the first portion of the offseason workouts, Brady and Gronkowski were back on the field together Tuesday for the first of three mandatory minicamp sessions. The arrival of the two offensive stars created some high-energy buzz — the NFL Network, ESPN, Sports Illustrated and USA Today were among those in attendance, and they weren’t there to see Danny Etling or Ryan Izzo. Brady and Gronkowski were (finally) present, and they didn’t disappoint, dominating for much of the workout and generally making people forget about the eventful offseason both have had.

Brady was pretty animated. He missed a throw to Kenny Britt at one point and appeared to bark at himself for the misfire. He offered an occasional good word for a teammate like Jeremy Hill or Cordarrelle Patterson, and a fist-bump for backup Brian Hoyer. He was an active presence.

“It’s always loud with (Brady) out there,” said Julian Edelman. “He’s an intimidating SOB.”

Volume aside, the simple fact was that there was a crispness and efficiency at the quarterback position that wasn’t there for the OTAs that we in the media had a chance to watch. As for whether or not he’d be punished by coach Bill Belichick for staying away, well, that didn’t happen. (Other than a salty Belichick-ordered lap the whole offense had to take after an error.) Brady was the clear choice as QB1 in the team drills throughout the day, and by my count, went 21-for-25 in those sessions, finishing 14-for-15 to close out the afternoon and looking pretty much like the same guy who threw for 505 yards in the Super Bowl.

“I always like looking at (Brady),” Edelman said when asked about the sight of the quarterback on the practice field.

When it came to Gronkowski, he looked an awful lot like he did at the first day of training camp last year. That was a session where he spent the bulk of his time looking like his All-World self while high-stepping away from defenders. It was more of that on Tuesday. In the workout that ran almost two hours, two big moments stood out above all others for the tight end:

One, when he split the defense and corralled a sweet deep ball from Hoyer down the sideline that went for 50-plus yards. It was a reception that drew “oohs” from his teammates and was punctuated by an end zone spike. When he returned to the sideline, one teammate stuck out his hand and said, “Welcome back.”

And two, when he made another highlight-worthy grab and took off throughout the secondary. Running down the sideline, he pointed at the Iowa coaching staff that was standing on the sidelined. He was laughing the whole way.

Regardless of where he spent his offseason working out, on Tuesday, it was clear that Gronkowski is feeling pretty good right now.

“It just felt really good to be back out on the field,” Gronkowski said. “That’s what matters most. I enjoyed it a lot (Tuesday). I love playing the game of football. The game of football is fun when you’re feeling good. If you’re not feeling good — I mean, myself, (and) I’ve asked many other players — you really don’t like the game of football.

“If you’re feeling good — your body feels good, your mind feels good — the joy of playing the game of football is off the charts. But at the same time, if you’re not feeling good, it can be awful. So I’m just making sure ... I want to be feeling good, keep my mind clear, keep on playing the game and enjoy it.”

Brady didn’t talk with the media afterward but was prominently one of the last ones off the field after engaging in a post-practice one-on-one throwing session with his buddy Edelman, and later, Dwayne Allen. He sprinted past reporters, but Gronkowski, with his freshly shaved head, stuck around to take a few questions, many of which focused on his decision to sit out for the bulk of the spring workouts.

“I just was training on my own,” Gronkowski said. “I felt like that was the best thing for me. I wanted to take care of my body. I wanted to take care of myself and see where I was at before I come out here. It went good. I think it was a good decision.

“I had to do what I had to do where I felt good enough — get my body prepared, get my body right again, see where my body was at, see where my mind was at — and I’m glad to be back out here. I feel like I definitely made the right decision coming back out.”

As for his surprisingly noncommittal Super Bowl quote where he sounded like he was hinting at retirement?

"I was just seeing where I was at after a long season. (Retirement) was definitely on the mind, but I had to do what I had to do," he said.

He was also asked about rumors of a new deal.

"I don't know. We're trying to."

Do you want to get something done before the season?

"Who wouldn't?"

In the end, the Patriots didn’t have perfect attendance on Tuesday, but the sight of No. 12 and No. 87 back on the field was enough to brighten things on an occasionally overcast morning.

“It was good day,” said veteran safety Devin McCourty when asked about the return of Brady and Gronkowski.

Look, given the way this offseason has gone for the Patriots, this whole thing could go sideways tomorrow. But on Tuesday, it was easy to look at Brady and Gronkowski, hear the laughter from the big tight end, and forget about the reported dysfunction that has dominated the headlines since last year ended. The bottom line? There’s a long way to go between now and the start of the regular season. But if their two stars keep trending in the right direction, on Tuesday, the Patriots’ offense looked an awful lot like a group capable of restoring its place at the top of the NFL food chain.