Tom Brady and the New England Patriots enter the 2019 season without star tight end Rob Gronkowski, who retired earlier this year.
On Thursday, Brady opened up about what it’s like to approach a new season without his longtime teammate.
“Yeah, it’s the first time in a long time,” Brady said, per Kevin Patra of NFL.com. “He was such a great player for our team. Like with any season, things are different and we’re going to have to adjust. Teams are going to play us differently without him. We’ve seen that even when he’s on the team.”
Brady also said this isn’t the first time in his career that the offense has been forced to make significant adjustments.
“No one is going to make any excuses for our offense and we’re going to do everything we can do to be the best we can be and score every time we touch the ball. The tight end position is a big part of our offense and those guys are going to have to do a great job for us.”
New England attempted to fill the void left by Gronk’s retirement by signing Austin Seferian-Jenkins and Ben Watson.
However, Seferian-Jenkins was released so he can attend to a personal matter. And Watson will open the season with a four-game suspension after taking a prescription steroid during the offseason when he thought he would never play again.
Even when Watson returns, it’s clear New England’s offense is going to look a heck of a lot different this coming season (unless Gronk comes back as many expect). As usual, Brady will be the glue that holds the offense together.