FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Robert Kraft drove up to his stadium and walked through the door with a bulging briefcase under his left arm. It was the same door his players used earlier Tuesday after being locked out for 4 1/2 months.
The owner and the rest of the New England Patriots have plenty of work to do — and do it fast.
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Rookies need to be signed, free agents pursued. Training camp practices start Thursday. Their first preseason game is just two weeks later against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
“I’ve been here for the past week,” wide receiver Wes Welker said, “driving around here and finding a place to work out and doing all that stuff I don’t have to worry about anymore.”
The end of the work stoppage brings a fresh start to the team that had the NFL’s best regular-season record (14-2) last year but lost its first playoff game. Safety Patrick Chung was itching to return.
“I almost put my helmet on (and) walked around my house the other day,” he said, “I bet guys are ready to be back.”
After the new 10-year labor agreement was approved on Monday, players could report voluntarily on Tuesday to the team facilities from which they had been barred. At least 15 showed up in the first hour after doors opened officially at 10 a.m. More arrived later.
They handled paperwork, took physicals and worked out.
Players must report by Wednesday with the first two training camp practices, both without pads, set for Thursday.
Wide receiver Deion Branch walked into Gillette Stadium with a big smile. Running back Danny Woodhead, tight end Rob Gronkowski, wide receiver Julian Edelman and backup quarterback Brian Hoyer also were there.
“Everybody was happy,” Chung said. “I feel like I haven’t seen my brothers in a while.”
Kraft, wearing sunglasses, pulled up to the curb at 10:50 a.m. in a dark blue sedan. On Monday, he was praised by Indianapolis Colts center Jeff Saturday at the news conference announcing the agreement.
Saturday, who played an active role in the negotiations, called Kraft “a man who helped us save football.” He paid tribute to Kraft’s wife Myra, who died last Wednesday of cancer, for allowing her husband to participate in the negotiations.
“Without him,” Saturday said, “this deal does not get done.”
On Tuesday, Kraft’s players lauded their owner.
“I want to give my condolences, man, because that was hard” for Kraft to balance his personal and business concerns, Chung said. “I love Mr. Kraft.”
“It’s great to have an owner like that who has as much passion for the game as you do,” Welker said. “To really get a deal done and put everything aside even with all the circumstances, obviously he’s a heck of a guy and a heck of a man and we’re very lucky to have him here.”
Guard Logan Mankins plans to be there, too.
Frank Bauer, his agent, told ESPNBoston.com that Mankins, who held out the first seven games last year in a contract dispute, would show up on time. He would be guaranteed about $10.1 million in a one-year deal after the team designated him as its franchise player. Mankins, a first-round draft pick in 2005 who went to his third Pro Bowl last season, still could work out a long-term contract.
Bauer did not return a phone call or e-mail seeking comment.
Mankins and Tom Brady were among 10 plaintiffs in an antitrust suit that the players filed against the league, but has since been dropped.
The labor agreement bans teams from practicing twice a day with pads.
“We work hard, man,” Chung said, “regardless of if it’s one practice, two practices, three practices, 1,000 practices.”
He and Welker believe a lot of the Patriots players worked out hard during the lockout. Welker even flew to Los Angeles recently to play catch with Brady.
“It was nice to just get out there and throw the ball around and kind of get back in the groove a little bit,” Welker said. “It kind of gets you excited about the year.”
He wasn’t able to hear play calls, so he said he’ll have to get acclimated to that again. But that sure beats hearing reports about the negotiations.
“One day it seemed like we weren’t having a season and the next day we’re getting a deal done,” he said. “Just like everyone else I got sick of hearing about it. … I just tried to concentrate on what I could control and that was staying in shape and make sure I’m ready for when the time came when there was football.”
That time has come.
“At this time of year, money starts running low and everything like that,” Welker said with a grin, “so it’s nice to start getting paychecks again.
“The fans are excited, the players are just as excited, and we’re ready to get out there and play.”
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