FOXBOROUGH — Fifty-two of the players on the New England Patriots' active roster were on the field for the start of Tuesday's practice.
Rob Gronkowski was the lone Patriot missing.
Gronkowski missed one game -- Week 13 versus Philadelphia -- with a knee injury sustained against the Broncos on Nov. 29. Gronk was removed from the injury report on Dec. 24. He had missed a practice on Dec. 23 to attend the funeral of his late friend, Dana Parenteau.
We may not ever know the reason for Gronk's absence Tuesday. The Patriots aren't scheduled to release their first practice report until Wednesday.