There could be a second Gronkowski on the Patriots’ roster soon. The club worked out free agent fullback Glenn Gronkowski, brother of superstar tight end Rob Gronkowski, on Monday, ESPN’s Adam Caplan reports (Twitter link). As of now, there’s no indication the team plans to sign “Baby Gronk.”
The younger Gronkowski signed with the AFC East rival Bills this year as an undrafted free agent from Kansas State and cracked their Week 1 roster, but the team cut him after its opening loss to the Ravens.
Joining Gronkowski in auditioning for New England were seven other free agents, per Mike Reiss of ESPNBoston.com (Twitter link) : running back Storm Johnson; tight ends Rory Anderson and Austin Traylor; defensive tackles Brandin Bryant and Trevon Coley; and defensive backs Jamell Fleming and Doran Grant. Of that septet, only Johnson, Fleming and Grant have seen NFL action. Fleming easily possesses the most experience, having appeared in 46 regular-season games with the Cardinals, Jaguars and Chiefs from 2012-15. Fleming, on whom Arizona once used a third-round pick, appeared in all Kansas City’s games last year, though he didn’t play a significant role with the team.
Notably, no quarterbacks tried out for the Patriots on Monday. With Jimmy Garoppolo hurt and third-round rookie Jacoby Brissett set to start, wide receiver Julian Edelman – a former high school and college quarterback – could be the Pats’ backup Thursday against Houston. Earlier Monday, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that New England wasn’t planning on signing any signal-callers before its tilt with the Texans, who are also 2-0.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
