N.E. may not stand Pats on Gronk
Following an offseason filled with more questions than answers about his status for 2018, the chances of tight end Rob Gronkowski being shipped out of New England are gradually increasing, according to the Boston Sports Journal’s Greg Bedard.
“A Bill Belichick-friendly source agreed with my thinking that once a player makes Belichick start to contemplate life without him, Belichick starts to warm to being without that player,” Bedard described, per The Big Lead, with the insider adding, “He imagines you gone.
“The longer Gronkowski goes without saying he’s all in, the chances of him being traded increases, the source said.”
Following the Patriots’ 41-33 loss to the Eagles in Super Bowl LII last month, Gronkowski, 28, did not commit to playing another year in New England.
“I’ll sit down in the next couple of weeks and see where I’m at,” the five-time Pro Bowler said.
Rumors later surfaced that Gronkowski considered hanging up his cleats permanently following a tense minicamp over the summer.
EAGLES: Should his felony case of injury to the elderly go to trial, the attorney for Philadelphia defensive end Michael Bennett said his client will plead not guilty.
“The only two possible outcomes for this case is the DA’s office [saying] they don’t have a case and dis- missing, or a trial — one of the others,” attorney Rusty Hardin told ESPN. “If and whenever they ask for a plea, it will be not guilty.”
Bennett, in Houston for Super Bowl LI on Feb. 5, 2017 to watch his brother, Martellus, then with the Patriots, allegedly pushed his way through NRG Stadium security personnel — including a 66-year-old paraplegic woman — and onto the field after the game.
VIKINGS: Minnesota has signed wide receiver Kendall Wright, who led the Bears in receptions and yards last season. Wright was a first-round draft pick by Tennessee in 2012 and produced a career-best 94 catches for 1,079 yards in 2013.
In his lone season with the Bears, he finished with 59 receptions for 614 yards. Wright has 19 career touchdowns.
REDSKINS: Former Super Bowl MVP Mark Rypien said he has attempted suicide, hired prostitutes and suffers from persistent depression. Now, he’s wondering if he sustained brain injuries while playing football.
The 55-year-old former quarterback is worried about his future even as he revealed some lurid elements of his past.
“There were behaviors that were just bizarre,” Rypien said in an article published Friday in The Spokesman-Review newspaper and also broadcast on KHQ-TV of Spokane.
Rypien, who figures he suffered several concussions playing organized football for 26 years, said he suffers from depression, anxiety and isolation.