Rob Gronkowski’s honor before the Patriots’ game against the Green Bay Packers set off a wave of nostalgia in Patriots nation, but the mood didn’t stay warm for long. The Packers rolled to an easy win, and then came a troubling injury update on running back Rhamondre Stevenson.
Before Week 9, Gronkowski caught up with Tom Brady and Julian Edelman, and the conversation quickly turned into a roast session when they pressed Brady on his “last cheat day meal.”
“I had pizza last night…I had just a ridiculous piece of pizza last night,” Brady admitted. “It was…I think it was like, cheese, it was very average, I was at my sister's house,” the former Pats superstar added.
Brady, of course, spent his New England years piling up five Super Bowl titles, four of them with Gronkowski alongside him. Edelman was right there in the mix too, serving as one of Brady’s most trusted targets and a steady force on special teams as one of the league’s top kick returners.
The Patriots of today are still trying to close the gap to that standard under head coach Mike Vrabel, and they’ve had to do it while dealing with a string of injuries, including to TreVeyon Henderson and AJ Brown on offense. Vrabel was also asked directly whether the team has a locker room issue, and he answered in a way fans didn’t see coming.
Brady built his reputation in the NFL as one of the game’s great quarterbacks and as a guy who kept his diet famously tight. If the Patriots of 2026-27 want to get back to the Super Bowl, they might want to follow that lead and take it easy on the pizza.
In Other News...
Patriots Face A Trade Deadline Decision Fans Are Split On
The Patriots are heading into the NFL trade deadline with the kind of roster uncertainty that tends to sharpen every conversation around Foxborough. Recent moves have only added to the churn, with the team trimming the edges of the roster while analysts and reporters continue to break down film, injuries and the broader picture of where this group stands after a rocky stretch.
What makes the deadline so tricky is that New England has real short-term needs and no shortage of opinions about how aggressively it should address them. Injuries have thinned key spots, the recent performance has left fans split on whether to push chips in or stay patient, and the front office has to weigh immediate help against the longer view of a team still trying to find its footing. [Read more 🡒]
Patriots Suddenly Face Another Backfield Concern On A Battered Offense
Rhamondre Stevensons knee tendon issue has added another layer of concern to an offense already trying to piece itself together around a string of injuries. The Patriots have been dealing with absences and uncertainty at wide receiver and along the offensive line, with A.J. Brown, Romeo Doubs, Mike Onwenu and Alijah Vera-Tucker all part of the battered picture that has made depth a weekly issue.
For now, the expectation is that Stevenson can avoid surgery and work his way back through rest and rehabilitation, but even a short absence would force New England to lean harder on its next wave of backs. Corey Kiner, Lan Larison and Terrell Jennings are the names in that mix, and with some of them only recently back from injury or practice squad status, the Patriots may have to keep adjusting on the fly while waiting for the backfield to settle down. [Read more 🡒]
Patriots Trade Deadline Pressure Just Got Harder To Ignore
A lopsided loss to the Packers did more than dent the Patriots record. It sharpened the sense that this roster still needs help if it wants to look like a real threat, and the trade deadline is starting to feel less like a luxury and more like an obligation. New England has pieces worth building around, but the gap between where it is and where it wants to be was hard to miss in Green Bay.
The issues were not limited to one side of the ball, either. The defense had a rough day, and Christian Gonzalez was part of that struggle in a game where the Patriots needed steadiness and got too much inconsistency instead. Mike Vrabel still has time to clean things up, but if the front office is serious about accelerating the turnaround, it may have to find a way to add real impact help before the deadline passes. [Read more 🡒]