Karen Guregian of the Boston Herald reports that Rob Gronkowski's fourth arm surgery is set to take place today at Massachusetts General Hospital.
"Cultures are expected to be taken from the forearm, and those will take about a week to process to see if the culture grows," writes Guregian. "If it does, which would mean the infection is still present, that's a problem that will hugely hinder Gronkowski going forward. If that's the case, it's back to square one, and the possibility of missed games creeps into the equation. Ultimately, If all goes well, a new plate will eventually replace the one that's been holding the broken bone in the forearm in place, and Gronk will start out on his 10-11 week recovery phase."
Peter King of Sports Illustrated spoke with Tom Brady over the weekend, and the Patriots quarterback stated that he feels better about his arm and mechanics than ever before.
"Going into my 14th year, I have never had more confidence in how I am throwing the football. I've never felt better throwing the football," said Brady, who turns 36 in 11 weeks.
Brady also spoke about the Best Buddies Challenge, a charity event taking place over the weekend of May 31st in Hyannis Port.
"It's one of the highlights of my year," said Brady, who will be the honorary chairman of the event for the 12th straight year. "Playing football is not curing cancer, and it's not helping people with intellectual disabilities. So when I leave Hyannis Port on Saturday afternoon, you feel like you've made a difference in people's lives."
Mike Reiss of ESPNBoston.com will be watching Patriots linebacker Brandon Spikes closely when the media gets their first look at organized team activities on Tuesday at Gillette Stadium.
"Spikes, who joined the team as a 2010 second-round draft choice, enters the final season of his contract so this is a big year for him to improve his stock and land what he hopes is a big payday," writes Reiss. "Given that background, it's notable from this perspective that Spikes hasn't been seen much at Gillette Stadium since the offseason program began in mid-April."
Nick Underhill of MassLive.com shares a Vine video of Patriots rookie wide receiver Aaron Dobson at the NFLPA Rookie Premiere in Los Angeles. The video is one of the first looks we have of Dobson in a Patriots uniform.
"Dobson has not yet signed his rookie deal. A source told MassLive.com that negotiations began late last week and both sides are hoping to reach an agreement in the coming days," adds Underhill.
Doug Kyed and Luke Hughes of NESN.com attempt to project the Patriots 53-man roster. Among the last cuts are CB Marquice Cole and WR T.J. Moe.
"I could see the Patriots carrying just five wide receivers, but due to the lack of experience this group has, it would be smart to carry the extra player, which in this case is [Donald] Jones," writes Kyed. "If there are injuries to any of these players, but especially Amendola and Edelman, T.J. Moe has a solid shot at making the roster."
