Patriots Huddle: Tuesday News & Notes 7/8

Kyle Arrington has made the most of his opportunities since becoming an important part of the Patriots' secondary. (USA TODAY Images)

Today marks the start of our series of Pre-Camp Player Profiles where we'll be releasing at least three player spotlight pieces each day throughout the week leading up to the beginning of training camp later this month.

One will run each day at 8am, noon, and 3pm, with the first one spotlighting Stevan Ridley now available. So be sure and check back throughout each day for the next few weeks as we make our way down the roster heading into training camp. You can also follow us via our official Twitter feed at @PatsFans to be alerted to when they're posted.

But in the meantime, here's a quick rundown of today's stories:

ARRINGTON MAKING THE MOST OF HIS OPPORTUNITY:

Patriots cornerback Kyle Arrington has worked hard since arriving in New England, and he's quietly become an important asset to the Patriots' secondary.

The former standout from Hofstra recently admitted that coming from a small program in college and living the dream of playing of the NFL proves that anything is possible. He's going to be hosting his newly formed "Kamp Kyle" football camp, which will take place July 19th in Plainfield, Connecticut working with players from ages 7 to 18 years old.

"To be in this position, I am a prime example, a real-life example of whatever your dreams are or aspire to be, with undeniable faith, determination, resilience, what can happen. It is possible," Arrington told Mark Daniels of the Providence Journal. "To be in a situation where I can have a positive impact on just one life, it makes it all worthwhile."

Heading into training camp Arrington knows that the competition will be tougher than it's been in recent years with Darrelle Revis and Brandon Browner now in the mix, but he told the newspaper he's looking forward to it.

"Oh man, that's what it's all about in this game. It's all about competition, and we have a great group of guys," Arrington said. "The guys you just mentioned, Revis, Browner … their body of work speaks for itself. I'm definitely looking forward to training camp. When things get full throttle, things should get interesting and be fun."

EDELMAN SET TO DRIVE THE PACE CAR FOR A NASCAR EVENT:

Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman will be taking part in an upcoming event this weekend in New Hampshire for NASCAR's Camping World RV Sales 301 Sprint Cup Series.

Edelman will reportedly be driving the pace car for the event, although unfortunately for the Patriots receiver he won't be driving a glitzy race car during the event. Edelman will be driving a Toyota Camry SE, but he's still excited about participating.

As a punt returner in the NFL, I know all about teamwork, high-speeds and collisions on Sundays," said Edelman in a media release. "But my goal on Sunday, July 13 will be to get those guys around the track safely before they drop the green flag for what is sure to be a highly-competitive race. I am honored to be chosen to drive the pace car at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, and I can't wait to take in my very first NASCAR race from what will certainly be the best seat in the house.

GRONK ON TRACK FOR WEEK ONE RETURN, SPOTTED IN CHICAGO RECENTLY:

After the uncertainty that surrounded him in the early part of last season, the Patriots were forced to live without Rob Gronkowski as he continued recovering from an infection in his forearm, as well as offseason back surgery at the start of 2013.

The good new is the torn ACL he suffered against the Browns sounds like it's continuing to recover well and according to Paul Perillo of Patriots.com, Gronkowski may be on the field for New England's opener in Miami.

Perillo, in his examination of the tight end position, writes, "At this point all signs point toward Gronk being ready to go in Week 1," which would certainly be good news for an offense that struggled in the early part of the season without him.

In the piece Perillo wonders what most fans are also thinking, and that's whether or not Gronkowski can make it through an entire season healthy and move on from his injury woes. According to the Chicago Tribune, the veteran tight end apparently spent the fourth of July weekend in the windy city, hanging out with DJ Dante The Don, along with WWE developmental talent Mojo Rawly:

@RobGronkowski @MikeLeuhrsen @MojoRawleyWWE @DanteTheDon pic.twitter.com/h2o5d8msjt
— Robert Goon (@goon356) July 6, 2014

JIM BROWN SAYS '64 TITLE RING WAS STOLEN:

File this under a story that's certainly bizarre, but Cleveland Browns running back Jim Brown spotted his 1964 NFL Championship ring being auctioned online, a ring that Brown claims was stolen from him more than 40-years ago.

The ring is reportedly up for bidding on lelands.com until July 25th, with the highest bid on Monday at $33,275. Brown told cleveland.com that a claim by the auction company that he authenticated the ring is "a lie" and that he was unaware the ring was being auctioned off.

A spokesman for the online auction house, Lelands.com, told ESPN's Darren Rovell that the company would be issuing a statement in response to the claims made by Brown, who said he believed a police report was filed when it was first discovered that it was stolen.

Lelands.com claims the ring has actually been sold several times after it was passed down from Brown to a family member. It's currently owned by Josh Evans, the owner of the auction house, which first sold it to a bidder in 1998 before buying it back again.

The obvious question now is whether or not Brown will be able to recover it.

Additional Links:

Jordan Jennings of the Postgame blog for Yahoo! Sports has a nice entry on Devin and Jason McCourty teaming up for Sickle Cell awareness, which is a cause close to both of them because their father carried the trait - READ MORE

MassLive.com continues his series ranking the Patriots, and has Chandler Jones coming in at No. 5 in his latest entry - READ MORE

Patriots.com's John Rooke has some notes this morning, and wonders how Darrelle Revis will fair along with a couple of other bits in this piece - READ MORE

Boston.com's Erik Frenz looks at the quarterback position, and feels that Ryan Mallett and Jimmy Garoppolo are in a battle this preseason to lead the team in the event the Patriots face a worst-case scenario with Brady getting injured - READ MORE

Patriots.com's Paul Perillo has a good look at the Patriots' defensive line, and believes health will be a major factor up front for the Patriots' defense. - READ MORE

ESPN BOSTON'S Field Yates highlights a couple of pieces focusing on the NFL's top 100 players, which obviously contains some Patriots on each list - READ MORE

ESPN BOSTON'S Mike Reiss continues his series on who he feels are locks to make the roster, with this morning's edition focusing on the defensive ends. - READ MORE