One of the biggest headlines of the offseason that I don’t want to get lost in the shuffle is how both Rob Gronkowski and Dont’a Hightower are now working with Tom Brady‘s healthy guru Alex Guerrero. The duo joins at least Brady and Julian Edelman as players using Guerrero’s methods to prepare their bodies for all that comes with football combat.
If there was one thing I hoped for after Gronk was lost for another season with another back injury, it was that the big tight end might give Guerrero a try. What did he have to lose? The only thing standing between Gronk and being the best tight end of all time (if he isn’t already) was his health.
Imagine Gronk playing into his 30s. Jason Witten has 135 more regular season games, and six less touchdowns. Tony Gonzalez played 188 more games at this point and had 43 more touchdowns.
Gronk will be just 28 this year and if Guerrero can help him squeeze another handful of seasons out of his battle-worn body, there will be no tight end record left that he doesn’t own.
After taking up the program for a few months, Gronk told the Herald “I feel looser. I feel my mobility has increased a lot. I feel way more pliable.”
Edelman said of Guerrero’s methods:
“It’s a lifestyle on how to take care of your body, what you put in your body, flushing your body with his work. Before and after practice, keeping your muscles pliable, keeping them hydrated; those things. All it is is knowledge and the more knowledge you get through the years, the more powerful you can get. That’s kind of the little saying: more knowledge, more power. It’s definitely helped me a lot and I look forward to continue doing it.”
As for Hightower, Patriots fans are well familiar with the dip the defense takes each year when he misses a handful of games for nagging knee and shoulder injuries that he never seems able to shake. Hightower’s work this offseason with Guerrero is reportedly targeting his knee, with the Patriots taking their time with him until he’s fully ready to go.
The @Patriots allowed nearly one fewer yard per play with Dont’a Hightower on the field in 2016 pic.twitter.com/wOUV1X9NKs
— NFL Research (@NFLResearch) March 15, 2017
There might not be a more important trio of Patriots when it comes to then team’s Super Bowl chances than Brady, Gronk and Hightower. If those three are healthy and limber in January/February, you have to like the Pats’ odds.
Guerrero has been the center of some controversy, but it’s hard to argue with his results with Brady, as well as Ladainian Tomlinson, who thanked Guerrero in his Hall of Fame speech.
I was fortunate to play 11 years and never underwent one surgery due in part to the team of therapists who worked with me. Alex Guerrero, thank you.
It’s hard to recount all the surgeries Gronk has undergone at this point in his career. With ankle, knee, arm and back issues, this might be Guerrero’s greatest challenge yet. Imagine what a healthy Gronk, putting up 16-game seasons for the next eight seasons would mean for the player, team and record books.
Guerrero’s impact on the Patriots via his work with Brady is monumental. If he can replicate that kind of longevity with players who are more directly in the line of fire, the Patriots’ success will continue to roll.
Injuries are the greatest unknown of football. Really, every season the Patriots haven’t won the Super Bowl it’s easy to point out a couple key injuries that would’ve made a major difference. 2011-2013 all were because of a missing Gronk.
Now, with the help of Guerrero, we might not have to make those excuses about 2017 and beyond.