FOXBORO — Rob Gronkowski put both of his hands on the podium in front of him, slumped his shoulders down and channeled his inner Bill Belichick.
He was being asked for his prediction regarding Saturday night’s highly anticipated fight between Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather.
“We don’t make predictions,” Gronkowski said in a comically low voice, doing his best to imitate his often monotone coach.
It was a light moment yesterday, one synonymous with Gronkowski’s colorful personality, but it offered some continuity to what’s felt like a different kind of offseason, and preseason, for the Patriots’ star tight end.
Gronkowski is back on the field after having season-ending back surgery last year, the third such procedure of his career. And after a healthy offseason and some changes to his routine, Gronkowski might just feel the best he’s ever felt.
Yesterday offered a snapshot. Gronkowski was asked about his new diet, overseen by Tom Brady’s trainer Alex Guerrero, and if it has helped him.
“Yes, for sure,” he said.
Less sore?
“Yes.”
Anything specific?
“Yes.” And on it went.
“It’s hard to say because I couldn’t tell you how I felt in the middle of August every single year,” Gronkowski said when asked if this is the best he’s felt in his career at this point. “It’s always a new year, and they all blend together, and now going into my eighth season now, it just feels good to be out there practicing every day with the guys.”
It’s not just practicing, either. Gronkowski actually is playing snaps in August, and that more than anything symbolizes how different this preseason is for one of the Pats’ most dangerous weapons.
For the first time in five years, Gronkowski was on the field playing in a preseason game in Saturday’s loss to the Houston Texans. It had been nearly nine months since Gronkowski played in a game after leaving early from a Nov. 27 matchup against the Jets, and while he didn’t make a catch against the Texans, he felt great to be out there.
For a guy who’s been treated like a fragile package in the preseason the past five years, it didn’t surprise him one bit to be on the field Saturday night.
“It didn’t surprise me at all,” he said. “Coach always says be ready every single day, every single game. No matter what it is. Preseason, be ready to play 60 minutes. Past is in the past, but it was great going out there and getting some work.
“I’m glad I was out there. It felt good just to get the game speed. You can never get enough reps, you can never get enough practice reps, so it felt great to go out there and get my feet wet and see what it’s all about again.”
If Saturday was a test run, it remains to be seen what to expect next. Week 3 of the preseason typically is the game in which starters get some extended work before shutting it down for Week 4, so Gronkowski should see some more snaps Friday night against the Lions in Detroit.
For once, Gronkowski looks fully healthy, and he’s looked that way since spring practices. But with such a long injury history, he would be the first to say everything isn’t always what it seems.
“I don’t think there’s such thing as feeling 100 (percent),” Gronkowski said. “I mean, if you’re feeling 100 then that probably means you’re at home, just chilling, just working out. So, I mean, everyone’s going through something, but I feel good.”
The Patriots are risking that good health by sending him out on the field for meaningless games. Gronkowski, out of anyone on the Pats offense not named Tom Brady, doesn’t really need the additional work. He’s had record-setting seasons without needing preseason tune-ups, and it seems like he and Brady haven’t skipped a beat, at least in practice.
But after a nearly nine-month layoff, Gronkowski is looking at things with a different perspective. He’s only seeing the rewards of being on the field.
“I just felt the benefit when I was out there, just the speed of the game, live game speed,” Gronkowski said. “It’s been a while for me, so I just felt the benefit of getting out there and getting in sync blocking-wise, the cadence, everything like that, so I’m taking all positives out of it.”
