It's no secret that the New England Patriots treat tight end Rob Gronkowski with kid gloves. He is the most important non-Tom Brady player on the roster and there's no reason to put him in a potentially risky situation.
Tuesday marked the first mandatory minicamp of the 2016 season and Gronkowski did not take the field with his teammates. When asked why, head coach Bill Belichick said that Gronkowski was "doing other things." Helpful.
According to reports from the Boston Herald's Jeff Howe and from ESPN's Mike Reiss, the Patriots are actively holding Gronkowski out of practice.
Gronkowski has reported with the team and has been at the facility during the entire offseason workout program.
Reiss reports that the Patriots are taking "a cautious approach with an undisclosed physical ailment that isn't considered a long-range concern."
Howe adds that the injury is "said to be extremely minor in nature, to the point where there'd be no issue with him practicing if this were the regular season."
In other words, the Patriots aren't going to put a less-than-100% Gronkowski on the field- which is the smart decision. It just takes one mishap with Gronkowski on the practice field for the Patriots season to go up in smoke.
And with quarterback Tom Brady projected to be suspended for the first four games of the season, the rest of the offense will need Rob Gronkowski to help pick up the slack until Brady's return.