FOXBORO -- If Bill Belichick wanted to make Tom Brady's return to Patriots practice any more dramatic, he could've. He could've said something about how Brady and Rob Gronkowski were behind because they'd missed all of their team's offseason workouts before Tuesday. He could've made a veiled comment about how it's nice to have everyone involved for a change.
He didn't. He handled his press conference before the first mandatory minicamp practice of the spring as he handles most.
Asked if it was good to have his quarterback back in the fold, he replied, "It's good to have all the players here. It's always good to work with all the players."
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What about getting Brady and Gronkowski up to speed? They'd missed every workout through the first seven weeks of spring work. Would they need any special attention?
"We have players that are in various stages of participation," Belichick said. "Everybody does what they can, the best that they can and get ready to go. Whatever they can do. We have a lot of guys that are in a lot of situations."
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What about for the players Brady and Gronkowski will be playing with? Will there be an adjustment period for them? Those two, aside from being Hall of Fame caliber players, have an ability to impact everything the Patriots offense does. Reintegrating them would necessarily mean some changes for everyone else, one would think, even if it's just when it comes to the distribution of reps.
"We're all -- myself, all the coaches, all the players -- we're all out here doing the same thing," Belichick said. "We're trying to get ready for the season. We take every day every opportunity we can to put ourselves in the best position to have a good training camp, have a good season. We're all doing the same thing."
Then, when asked specifically about his relationship with Brady, Belichick was succinct.
"I've always had a good relationship with Tom," he said.
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Will that be enough to kill the story that has dominated this offseason for the Patriots? The one about appreciation, attendance, priorities and culture? Probably not. But it didn't fan the flames either, meaning that upon Brady and Gronkowski's return to the field, maybe we'll be able to spend a little time focusing what they did together out there as opposed to how they've been feeling while they've been away.
It'll be a welcome respite.