Rob Gronkowski was on the field for the start of training camp in New England, but the Patriots tight end isn't all the way back yet.
"If I was 100 percent, I would be doing every single thing," Gronkowski said. "No, I'm not 100 percent, obviously not. I'm working my way to get to that, and working every single day to get to that and improving every single day."
Gronkowski is referring to his limited practice schedule. He's participating in individual drills, but not in 7-on-7 or 11-on-11 drills. He's cutting well, but he's wearing a knee brace and a protective cover on his surgically repaired forearm.
It sounds like Gronk will be in pads for Saturday's practices, but no one is going to be tackling him yet. He wouldn't promise to be ready for Week 1, but it would be a surprise if he's not ready then. When he's healthy, we see Gronkowski as the most valuable offensive player in the league, excluding quarterbacks. And he's not going to change his physical style.
"I ain't changing that one bit. I'm gonna go full speed when I'm out there, and I'm gonna keep smashing and dashing everything I do," Gronkowski said.
The latest "Around The League Podcast" offers up team-by-team training camp previews of the NFC East and NFC West.
