Fansided

Tom Brady won’t miss Patriots’ minicamp

By Rucker Haringey

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - FEBRUARY 04: Tom Brady
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - FEBRUARY 04: Tom Brady /
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Patriots fans can sleep a little easier tonight. Owner Robert Kraft is “confident” that Tom Brady will show up for the team’s mandatory minicamp.

Tom Brady raised a few eyebrows with his decision to skip OTAs with his Patriots teammates this week. Unfortunately for AFC teams hoping to topple New England it’s not going to turn into a protracted holdout. Team officials fully expect to see Brady on the field when their mandatory minicamp begins.

It’s hard to imagine a better source for this intelligence than Patriots owner Robert Kraft. He told reporters at NFL spring meetings in Atlanta that he has spoken to Brady and knows he is “very excited about being at minicamp and having a very special season.” He chalks Brady’s absence from OTAs up to wanting to spend time with his family and the need to take care of some of his other business enterprises.

None of this should be a surprise to rational fans around the league. The idea that a 40-year-old Hall of Fame quarterback might skip minicamp isn’t cause for concern. It’s not as if Brady needs the extra reps to make sure he can get a firm grasp of the Patriots offense.

At Brady’s age the primary concern of he and the Patriots organization will be to protect his health at all costs. OTAs aren’t typically riddled with injuries, but as the Los Angeles Chargers learned yesterday, they can happen. Putting pressure on Brady to attend OTAs would have put his health at slight risk. That’s not a gamble worth taking.

Giving Brady grief about OTAs also could have done damage to the relationship between the team and their star signal caller. Brady has made a few passive aggressive comments about not being fully appreciated by the team this summer. Most think that’s in reference due to his contract status.

Next: Should the Patriots be worried about Tom Brady?

In the end, Brady will join the Patriots for their mandatory minicamp just like everyone expected. The road to the AFC title will continue to run through Foxborough until someone proves otherwise on the field.

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