Rob Gronkowski fires up tight ends in raucous practice despite heavy rain
Observations at Patriots training camp.
Rob Gronkowski said his cleats felt like they weighed 20 pounds on Sunday, as they were soaked with rain at training camp. But the downpour didn’t dampen his spirit or performance. Over the span of seven plays in team drills, three tight ends caught four touchdown passes. Gronkowski accounted for two.
There was a lot of celebration, particularly from Gronk, after each of the scores.
“We’re all here for the fun of it, for the grind,” Gronkowski told reporters Sunday. “We understand they make a play, you know, you see them celebrating and it’s part of the competition. If you don’t want them celebrating, make a play and stop them. If they don’t want us to celebrate, they’ve got to stop us, so it goes both ways and that’s what’s cool about it.”
During 11-on-11 drills, the tight end celebrated loudly after reaching over and snatching the ball away from safety Patrick Chung for a touchdown. Chung was in position to intercept the ball, but Gronkowski fought his way back to the ball for the grab. Gronk didn’t spike the ball. Instead, he chucked it into the air.
A few plays later, Tom Brady found Gronk in the corner of the end zone with multiple defenders in the area. The tight end ran over to fans on the sideline for a round of high-fives. Brady jogged over to celebrate as well.
“I just ran by, saw [the crowd] all cheering, so I was like ‘Why not go and high-five them?’” he said. “So, they were all excited. It’s cool to get the crowd involved, get the energy up, and it felt like it did.”
Garoppolo stepped in for the next round of the 11-on-11 drills, and found tight end Martellus Bennett for a touchdown over safety Jordan Richards. After the catch, Bennett threw the ball into the air while Richards punched the air in frustration. Gronk cheered loudly, and led a group of skill players toward Bennett for celebration.
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“I was super excited to see [Bennett] go out there,” Gronkowski said. “I made a couple big catches and he went, made a big catch, so it’s great to see that; other players out there making big plays. And it’s all about a team coming together and celebrating together after.”
On the final play of 11-on-11 work, Garoppolo found rookie tight end Bryce Williams for a touchdown. Once again, Gronk and the rest of the tight ends didn’t hide their glee.
After practice, cornerback Justin Coleman said with a smile that he had no comment on the tight ends’ festivities.
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