Rob Gronkowski is used to hauling in passes from Tom Brady, but in Weeks 1-4, he'll have a different signal caller looking for him. To Gronk, that's just fine.
Brady will begin the season serving a four-game suspension after reluctantly accepting his Deflategate punishment when multiple appeals failed to fall in his favor.
With the four-time Super Bowl champion sidelined, Jimmy Garoppolo will be under center for New England in the opening four weeks.
Garoppolo was drafted out of Eastern Illinois in the second round (No. 62 overall) of the 2014 NFL Draft. The 24-year-old owns a 64.5 completion percentage in 11 NFL games in his career -- five of which occurred last season -- and has thrown for 188 yards with a touchdown and no interceptions.
While the loss of Brady could be a damning way to start the season, Gronkowski ordered a public vote of confidence for the young signal caller.
"He's taken a big step over the past two years," Gronkowski told SiriusXM's "Movin' the Chains." "You see him this year and come in at the line, switching the play call, seeing the coverage's well, reading the linebackers, who is who and what coverage it is. He's doing a great job this camp so far and it's still early."
Garoppolo will be under center when the Patriots visit the Cardinals on "Sunday Night Football" in Week 1, and then again when the Patriots host the Dolphins, Texans and Bills in Weeks 2-4.
Gronkowski will look to strike the type of chemistry with Garoppolo that he shares with Brady.
The 27-year-old tight end is coming off of a season where he hauled in 72 passes for 1,176 yards and 11 touchdowns to up his career numbers to 380 catches, 5,555 yards and 65 touchdowns in 80 games over six seasons.
After a 2nd Circuit Court denied Brady's latest appeal of the four-suspension, he announced on Facebook that he would accept it last month.
"I'm very grateful for the overwhelming support I've received from Mr. Kraft, the Kraft family, coach Belichick, my coaches and teammates, the NFLPA, my agents, my loving family and most of all, our fans," Brady wrote on Facebook. "It has been a challenging 18 months and I have made the difficult decision to no longer proceed with the legal process. I'm going to work hard to be the best player I can be for the New England Patriots and I look forward to having the opportunity to return to the field this fall."
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