Patriots quarterback Tom Brady said Monday morning that he needs to improve his own game in order for the team’s offense to snap out of the struggles they’ve had in the first two games of the season.
That may be, but getting better results would likely be easier if Brady were able to throw the ball to tight end Rob Gronkowski and wide receiver Danny Amendola in addition to the players who were on hand for Thursday night’s victory over the Jets. Jay Glazer of FOX Sports reported Sunday that Amendola will be out up to six weeks with torn adductors in his hip and a possible sports hernia injury that will require surgery.
Coach Bill Belichick answered a question about Gronkowski by saying that the team sees all of their injured players as “day-to-day” on a Monday conference call and then was asked if Amendola is more week-to-week because of the nature of his injuries.
“I’d say really all of our players are day-to-day other than obviously [running back Shane] Vereen. I know the rest of them we’ll just take it day-to-day,” Belichick said.
While it sounds like that might be optimistic about Amendola’s return, Gronkowski has been steadily ramping up his practice work and the extended time between the Jets game and Sunday’s matchup with the Buccaneers should nudge him even closer to a return. He’d likely be kept on a pitch count upon his return, but even a limited amount of Gronkowski would go a long way for the Patriots offense.
