Rob Gronkowski’s ankle, like the mystery that surrounds it, isn’t going anywhere. As he said continually during the week, it’s “day by day,” which sounds more like an ’80s sitcom theme song than a health update. So the most popular Super Bowl angle (or ankle) will remain a topic of conversation up to, through and after tomorrow’s massive matchup.
Yesterday, during a team walkthrough, nobody on the team was moving around at anything more than a trot. Wearing a dark blue T-shirt bearing the popular “Yo Soy Fiesta” phrase he recently coined, Gronkowski moved without a limp at practice. He is one of 12 Patriots listed as questionable on New England’s injury report for tomorrow’s matchup against the New York Giants.
As has become as much a part of his daily routine as twirling a whistle, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick addressed Gronkowski’s status yesterday.
“I think he was OK this morning,” Belichick said. “I don’t think we had any setbacks. We’ll see how it goes out there today, but I think that he’s been on a … Rob’s worked extremely hard. He’s gotten treatment in the morning, noon, and night, and he’s gotten better on a daily basis. … We’ll just have to see where he gets to, but we’re certainly moving in the right direction and getting better on a daily basis.”
Asked to elaborate, Belichick elicited genuine laughter from the press conference attendees with his response.
“He practiced on a limited basis,” Belichick said. “He did some of the things that we did in practice, but not all of them. Is that the elaboration you were looking for?”
Even in a JW Marriott ballroom as opposed to the Gillette Stadium media workroom, Belichick’s podium performances are consistent.
***
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell took the podium yesterday and touched on a wide range of topics such as concussions: “We will always make sure player health and safety is the No. 1 priority in the NFL.” About Indianapolis as a host, he said: “They are doing a fantastic job.” And about HGH testing: “We’d like to implement it in the offseason.”
With the league and its players reaching a labor accord in July, the backdrop to his state-of-the-NFL speech was much less volatile than the situation in recent years.
Expansion was also a hot topic, with talk of a Los Angeles team always an issue since the Rams and Raiders both left L.A. in 1995.
“I will tell you that we have not talked about expansion in the league at all,” Goodell said. “It has not been on our agenda. It is not something that we focused on with our membership, and I don’t see that in the foreseeable future. We want to keep our teams where they are. We believe it is healthier for the league in the long term.”
He also added that, if the league were to expand, it would be by two teams to move from 32 to another even number, 34. So if Los Angeles gets a team, another market would be in the running as well.
***
The other Patriots listed as questionable were lineman Marcus Cannon (ankle), safety Patrick Chung (knee), linebacker Dane Fletcher (thumb), defensive tackle Kyle Love (ankle), guard Logan Mankins (knee), linebacker Rob Ninkovich (hip), linebacker Brandon Spikes (knee), tackle Sebastian Vollmer (illness, back, foot), wide receiver Wes Welker (knee) and linebacker Tracy White (abdomen).
Listed as probable for the Patriots were receiver Deion Branch (knee), center Dan Connolly (groin), safety James Ihedigbo (shoulder), tackle Matt Light (illness) and wide receiver/safety Matthew Slater (shoulder).
Giants running back Ahmad Bradshaw was the only player not to practice as he battles a foot injury. He is still listed as probable for tomorrow’s game.
(Tim Whelan Jr. is a Daily News staff writer. He can be reached at 508-626-4402 or twhelan@wickedlocal.com. Follow him at the Super Bowl on Twitter at @metrowestdaily #MWDN.)