Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski decided not to report to voluntary Organized Team Activities, so New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick has chosen not to talk about them.
According to James Palmer of NFL Media, Belichick twice said he would only discuss the players at OTAs.
Asked about Rob Gronkowski, Belichick, like he did when asked about Brady, opted to answer that he’s not going to talk about the players that are not here.
— James Palmer (@JamesPalmerTV) May 22, 2018
The deflection is perfectly in line with Belichick’s shtick, since he’s regularly evasive with the media.
Nobody will argue with Belichick, though the reason for not talking wasn’t consistent. Doug Kyed of NSEN notes Belichick wouldn’t comment on specific draft picks either, so it’s simply the coach not wanting to discuss Brady or Gronkowski.
And that’s understandable. It’s a long offseason, and the primary topics of conversation has been and throughout the remaining months will be the status of New England’s two biggest stars. That can get tiring.
So, the NFL world could be waiting for training camp before hearing Belichick discuss Brady and Gronkowski.