Gronk, Brady Miss Practice But Should You Care?
Sports betting enthusiasts, fantasy players and even hardcore fans make a big deal of it when a player misses practice. This is especially true in professional sports and particularly the NFL. Practice is sacred in the NFL and an unexcused absence or lateness can cost a player his job (see former Houston Texans QB Ryan Mallett). In light of this, it wasn’t surprising when the local media in New England and national media covering the NFL made a big deal over the fact that both Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski were absent from Friday’s practice.
The good news is that the fact they both missed practice on the same day is just a coincidence. Even better news for Patriots fans and ‘financial backers’–both are expected to play on Sunday. Gronkowski is listed as ‘probable’, not surprising since he wasn’t injured at all. Apparently, he was excused from practice for what has alternately been described as ‘not injury related’ and for ‘non-football reasons’. This is usually the description when a player has to take care of some personal business that has to be done at the same time as practice. In any case, it was cleared with the team and no one seems particularly concerned about it.
Brady might elicit a bit more concern but that’s because a) he’s the quarterback and b) he’s listed as ‘questionable’ due to ‘illness’. But as the Boston Herald pointed out in their coverage ‘illness’ on a NFL injury report doesn’t always mean that the player is sick. The newspaper explained that NFL coaches use this term for several reasons–injuries that have yet to be diagnosed specifically or for reasons that they intentionally want to be vague about. For example, linebacker Eric Martin was listed as out due to ‘illness’ all week but was eventually diagnosed with a concussion. The Boston Herald article noted that concussion symptoms often take time to manifest themselves and the ‘illness’ designation is used when something is clearly wrong but can’t be confirmed yet.
In any case, both Gronkowski and Brady are expected to play on Sunday against Tennessee. A win over the Titans combined with a Denver loss at Pittsburgh will give the Patriots a first round bye heading into the playoffs.