Darrelle Revis preparing Rob Gronkowski for full-contact practices
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| Doug Kyed - NESN.com |
The star corner back, once the victim of the dreaded ACL injury, is helping another very important player who is recovering from the same injury, one Rob Gronkowski, prepare for full-contact practices.
Gronkowski has yet to participate in 1-on-1, 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 drills, but he, along with Revis and Tom Brady (who, as we all know, suffered an ACL injury himself), have been spending time working together during practice each day.
Doug Kyed of NESN.com reports Revis is getting some contact in with Gronkowski during their individual drills.
“It’s good just to have a defender out there, instead of just running my routes on air right now,” Gronkowski said Sunday at Gillette Stadium after Patriots training practice. “To break off a guy right in front of you, just like it’s a game — you got to break off the guy, break off the defender. Having Darrelle out there and having him give me some contact — a little bit, pushing me on my routes — just making me a better player out there as of right now.”
Gronkowski is expected to practice more this week, but is still listed as day-to-day. It is incredibly unlikely he'll play on Friday night against the Eagles.
Not to sound cynical, but am I the only one who thinks that if Gronkowski doesn't play one down this pre-season, it won't matter? He was virtually unable to do much of anything leading up to his Week 7 return last year and really didn't seem to miss a beat when he played.
I like the Patriots approach with him. We know they can get by without him for a little while, as last season will tell you. But when it comes down to it, if they have any hope of reaching the Super Bowl, they're going to need him to be healthy for the stretch run.
It's also good to see other players on the team who have suffered the same type of injury, help Gronkowski prepare for the rigors of the season by getting a little physical with him, but also knowing where to draw the line.
What do you make of this latest development in Gronkowski's rehab? Follow me on Twitter - @JesseGaunce
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