Gronk is practicing, Brady is gloveless
Bettor who banked on World Series is putting $500K on Philadelphia, oddsmaker says
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Two of the New England Patriots’ most important players are getting healthier as they prepare to head to Minneapolis for Super Bowl week.
After getting stitches in his right hand and thumb prior to the AFC championship game last week, quarterback Tom Brady was on the practice field Saturday, gripping the ball without a glove on his throwing hand. Tight end Rob Gronkowski also was at practice, returning to workouts after starting the week in the NFL’s concussion protocol.
Both are positive signs for New England, which has just one practice remaining in Foxborough before the team heads to Minnesota to resume its Super Bowl preparations. Defensive lineman Deatrich Wise, who also missed practice time this week with a concussion, joined Gronk in the team stretching period that is open to reporters.
Gronkowski hadn’t been on the practice field since his second-quarter exit from the AFC title game following a helmet-to-helmet hit from Jaguars safety Barry Church.
“It’s always great to have him out there. He’s a great player, a great person, a great teammate and a big part of what we do,” Brady said of Gronkowski. “It obviously hurts when he’s not out there for a lot of reasons. But he’s doing the best he can do and we’re all hopeful.”
While Gronkowski and Wise were on the field, it’s unclear whether they have been officially cleared from the protocol. The team isn’t required to file its next injury report until Wednesday.
Gronk played just eight games last season and missed the Patriots’ entire
playoff run after undergoing seasonending back surgery.
Since the start of last season, New England is 12-1 without Gronk. But last season it had Martellus Bennett to fill in the gap without him. Bennett signed with Green Bay in the offseason, before being released by the Packers in November. He then re-signed with the Patriots, but only appeared in two games before being placed on season-ending injured reserve.
Brady said he wants to spend the rest of the time leading up to the Super Bowl avoiding all possible distractions. That includes not talking about a new series that debuted on Facebook recently and provides viewers a rare glimpse at his life off the field.
“What? Let’s talk about distractions,” Brady joked when he was asked about it Saturday. “We’ll stick to football this week, too. ”
SUPER BETTING: The same bettor who took Las Vegas’ (Nev.) legal sports books for millions of dollars on the World Series is looking to cash in again at the Super Bowl.
The bettor placed a $500,000 wager on the Philadelphia Eagles at the South Point sports book, oddsmaker Jimmy Vaccaro said. If the money line bet pays off, the gambler will walk away with $1.32 million, with a profit of $820,000.
“He’s one of the guys who was floating around betting all that money on the World Series,” Vaccaro said. “I don’t think he lost a bet then. We’ll see how he does now.”
The bettor, not publicly identified by Vaccaro, also could be behind a bet of more than $2 million on the Eagles at the Mirage sports book made earlier in the week. Officials at MGM Resorts International, which owns the Mirage, declined to say whether it was the same bettor, but confirmed the bet was for more than $2 million.
“He’s indicated if the conditions are right he might want to bet a little more,” said Albuquerque native and New Mexico State alumnus Jay Rood, who heads sports betting operations for MGM Resorts.
PRO BOWL: New Orleans Saints running back Mark Ingram has ridden every roller-coaster he could get to at Disney World the past few days. The thrill rides are probably the only fullspeed adventures Ingram will find this week.
Even though the Pro Bowl has more than 30 first-time participants, the NFL’s annual all-star game today is expected to be another up-tempo walkthrough filled with big plays and plenty of points. Avoiding injuries is more important than eluding criticism for looking little like a normal game.
“We’re out here, first and foremost, to have a little fun and put on a show for the fans,” Ingram said. “And we don’t want anyone to get hurt.”
The Pro Bowl returns to Camping World Stadium in nearby Orlando for the second straight year. The league has one year remaining on a three-year deal to play in the tourist city that’s home to Disney World. Teams practiced all week at ESPN’s Wide World of Sports complex.
None of the Pro Bowl players can afford to get hurt at this point in the season, especially with workout programs about 10 weeks away and free agency about six weeks out.
“I’m going to come out here and enjoy myself, have fun,” Jaguars cornerback Jalen Ramsey said. “I’m a competitor at the end of the day. I’m going to play a little bit, but I’m not going to come out here and go too hard on nobody.”