Patriots Minicamp: Bryan Stork Ejected From Practice

The Patriots held their second practice of the week today outside of Gillette Stadium in Foxboro. The top story that came out of practice that I could gather, was center Bryan Stork getting ejected along with defensive tackle Woodrow Hamilton.

From Mike Reiss of ESPN Boston:

"Toward the end of the session, third-year center Bryan Stork and undrafted rookie defensive tackle Woodrow Hamilton (Mississippi) were ejected from the practice for fighting. Stork appeared to land a few blows on Hamilton after a play in which Hamilton was rushing the passer.The majority of players on the team came on to the field in a scrum and the situation was extinguished quickly."

This really isn’t much to read into in my opinion, as this kind of thing frequently occurs during summer practices on the football field. In addition to this, Stork has always been a player that likes to mix it up on the field, so it really was only a matter of time until something like this happened. It looks like Stork will be locked in a tight competition at center with David Andrews throughout this summer, so it will be interesting to monitor that battle.

I think the other big story was tight end Martellus Bennett. He left practice due to a right leg injury, but later returned after being examined by the medical staff.

From Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald:

"Martellus Bennett briefly left practice due to a right leg injury, which may have only been a cramp. Bennett hobbled around the sideline for a bit with the training staff, and Tom Brady and Bill Belichick checked on him before Bennett stretched out on the ground and was cleared. He returned during the next period of team drills and caught Brady’s next pass."

There will always be injury scares like this early in the summer, but thankfully it sounds like Bennett is going to be okay. The duo of him and Rob Gronkowski is setting up to be one of, if not the most dominating offensive force in the league next year, so an early injury to one of them were certainly be deflating.

Speaking of Gronkowski, the big tight end was absent from practice once again, as the team is evidently being cautious about a minor injury he has (per Mike Reiss). He is at the facility with his teammates, but is being held out of practice so this minor ailment doesn’t turn into a long-term injury.

A lot of people are getting a bit worried about Gronk’s absence, but I couldn’t be more on the opposite end of the spectrum. It has already been reported that this ailment is not considered a long-term problem, so I completely understand being cautious with your second most important player. We saw Bennett get dinged up already, so we don’t need to risk big number 87 going down in something as meaningless as June minicamp.

The Pats need Gronk in January, not June.

Here are the 12 other players that were not at practice: (From Jeff Howe again) Julian Edelman, Danny Amendola, Shaq Mason, Josh Kline, Tre’ Jackson, Malcolm Mitchell, Logan Ryan, LeGarrette Blount, Duron Harmon, Dion Lewis, Brandon Bolden, Nate Ebner, C.J. Johnson, Sebastian Vollmer, Nate Solder and Clay Harbor.