Bedard: Robert Kraft needs to get the Patriots' trinity on same page

A week from today, the Patriots will take to the practice fields behind Gillette Stadium to start preparations for the 2018 season. Finally, this Real Housewives of Norfolk County offseason will be behind them, and it will be full steam ahead for Super Bowl LIII in Atlanta.

Or so they hope.

What's the status of the Patriots' pigskin trinity of Robert Kraft, Bill Belichick and Tom Brady as they enter their 18th season of winning ungodly amounts of football games together?

As murky as it was after the 2017 season concluded in disappointing fashion in the Super Bowl LII to the Eagles in Minnesota.

According to multiple sources, nothing has been hashed out among the three of them, at least at this time. That could certainly change as they come off vacation and ready for the season. But sources say the more likely scenario is that things are worked out slowly during camp — or not at all.

Belichick continues to be irritated that Kraft has increasingly interjected himself into areas that were largely Belichick's domain during his tenure with the Patriots. That includes the owner's deference to Brady and his role in the retention of Josh McDaniels.

The quarterback continues to be at odds with Belichick for multiple reasons, including his declination of giving Brady security with a contract extension before the trade of Jimmy Garoppolo; the team's handling of Alex Guerrero, Brady's trainer and confidant; and Belichick's refusal to generally give Brady some veteran leeway as he approaches his 41st birthday.

Kraft has tried to play the role of peacemaker. But his role as Brady's biggest enabler has largely compromised him in Belichick's eyes. Basically, at this point, all three appear to be heading for another season of operating as three separate entities.

Let's not overblow this. That's largely how the three have operated during their long tenure together. However, things took more of an icy turn last season when basically no one knew what was going to happen inside One Patriot Place.

The biggest x-factor in all this is Brady and his mentality once he throws himself fully back into football. For whatever reason, the quarterback basically detached himself from the Patriots this offseason when he did the absolute minimum, outside of the mandatory minicamp. The trials and tribulations of 2017 took a heavy toll on Brady, and he tried incorporating his family more into his offseason. That's not the approach that led him to be arguably the greatest quarterback in the NFL. But there are other ways to do things, and Brady decided to try a different tack.

The time away could have given Brady some clarity, and may have caused him to relent on some issues, especially Guerrero. A year ago, Brady was heavily involved in his TB12 brand, the upcoming book release, and his Tom vs. Time documentary. While he's done some events here and there and appeared with Oprah in an interview that was taped months prior, he seems to have taken a step back in business as well (he hasn't Instagrammed about TB12 since April). Brady has long talked about how he doesn't like negativity and prefers to avoid things that create inner conflict within himself. Perhaps after he returns from Costa Rica, he realizes he's part of the conflict within the Patriots and takes the higher ground.

Of course, the potential is there for the opposite to happen. All the personal time he took could make Brady viewing playing for Belichick as a waste of his valuable time. No one really believes that will be the case. Those closest to Brady believe he will play at a high level until he's 45, because that will be a real accomplishment unmatched by other NFL quarterbacks.

Could the Patriots continue to be successful if the status quo is maintained? Absolutely. Kraft, Belichick and Brady are so good at their roles they don't need the cohesion other organizations need to climb the mountain — the Patriots are the mountain. And, let's be honest, it's not like the three of them were hosting team dinners at their houses for bonding in prior years. So the need to "be on the same page" among this group is a little bit overblown.

That being said, the rest of the league is gaining a little bit on the Patriots. Nick Foles basically matched Brady throw for throw in the Super Bowl. Blake Bortles and Doug Marrone nearly upset the Patriots in their own stadium in the AFC Championship Game. The Steelers should have taken down New England during the regular season.

It certainly wouldn't hurt things if the Patriots' trinity was in lockstep entering this season, one in which past accomplishments get further away in the rearview mirror and legacies fly up to the windshield.

If that's going to happen, it's going to have to be a Kraft production. The man who was a key figure in ending the lockout surely can make his coach and quarterback see the bigger picture. In less than 10 years, all three will be wearing gold jackets at the Pro Football Hall of Fame for their dizzying array of accomplishments that may never be matched in NFL history. Do they really want to be remembered for spending the final years of the Patriots' dynasty in some sort of power struggle that took the shine off the blinding Lombardi trophies they won together in sacrifice to the team?

Maybe it might be wise for Kraft to bring in Bill Parcells, who is many ways had a hand in the Patriots' success, to talk to them about having regrets for not leaving places and the game on the right terms.

"I regret leaving New England. Had we done things differently ...," Parcells told USA Today in 2013. "I was absolutely too headstrong. And (Kraft) might have been a little headstrong, too. I think both Kraft and myself, retrospectively, would have done things a little differently."

As the end gets closer for Kraft, Belichick and Brady, there's no reason for any of them to have similar regrets once they're finished in New England.

But they're headed there — with a successful close or not — if they continue to operate around each other. That doesn't need to, nor should it, happen.