2017 Patriots Training Camp:

Unlike 2016, the Patriots hit the field on Thursday without the cloud of a four-game suspension hanging over their starting quarterback, which was obviously the big story when the team opened training camp last year.

Thursday saw the absence of veteran linebacker Rob Ninkovich, but it appears whatever kept him off the field wasn’t injury-related.

Even though he got a late start, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick isn’t worried about newcomer David Harris.

If anyone was worried about Rob Gronkowski, Thursday showed that he appears poised to be a big part of the Patriots offense once again in 2017.