Belichick: 'Hopefully Things Will Work Out As Positively As Possible With' Gronkowski
BOSTON (CBS) -- On Thursday evening, the Patriots and the Gronkowski family released a joint statement about star tight end Rob Gronkowski's back injury and surgery. On Friday morning, head coach Bill Belichick did not care much to add any detail to the official 225-word statement.
"Obviously we're all disappointed. Nobody's worked harder than Rob and been a better teammate and all that. So hopefully things will work out as positively as possible with him," Belichick said Friday at Gillette Stadium. "We'll just take it as it comes. So it's an unfortunate situation for him. That being said, we're turning out attention to the Rams."
Belichick was then asked a series of questions about the abilities of Martellus Bennett and other players to step in and help the offense produce in Gronkowski's absence. The coach's answers stuck to the script.
"Happy with all the players we have," he answered first.
"Again, we appreciate all of our players," he said when pressed for more.
"I'm just saying like, you want to rank them, and they're all important," he said when asked again about the players on the roster. "They're all important. Rob's a great player. They're all important."
Given the unique circumstances of the team deciding to release a joint statement with the Gronkowski family for the second time in as many years, Belichick was asked what factors went into that decision. His answer did not shed much light.
"I would say this is a situation with the team and the player, felt like it was the best thing to do," he said.
The official statement said that the team doesn't expect Gronkowski to return in the 2016 season. ESPN's Mike Reiss asked Belichick if that statement applies to the postseason as well.
"Read it, Mike. Just read the whole thing," Belichick replied. "There's obviously more information coming. So, right now, we have what we have. When more information comes, then, maybe there's another decision to be made. I don't know."
Given the team's decision to designate rookie quarterback Jacoby Brissett to return from injured reserve, Belichick was asked if the Patriots were aware of the severity of Gronkowski's injury before making that decision.
"We've talked about everything we're going to talk about here," Belichick said, adding that the decision on Brissett was what they felt was "best for the team."
As for a player who may see the field with Gronkowski out, Belichick was asked about tight end Matt Lengel. The 6-foot-7, 266-pound tight end has been active for just one game this season, and he accumulated no stats in his six snaps on the field. Belichick said Lengel's experience on the Bengals' practice squad last year has helped him make progress this season.
"He's picked things up ahead of a rookie type of player. So he has some experience there. He's got some skills," Belichick said of Lengel. "He's done a good job of what we've asked him to do. He works hard. He's been a dependable guy."
In college, Lengel caught 34 passes for 367 yards and two touchdowns over three seasons with the Eastern Kentucky Colonels. As for whether Lengel is more of a blocking or pass-catching tight end, Belichick didn't offer much in the way of a scouting report.
"We'll see," he said. "We only have tape from so many games, so I don't know if you can really categorize that. So we'll see."