Rob Gronkowski, Julian Edelman are on practice field for New England Patriots

Fans and the media were shocked to see Edelman back less than a month after suffering the injury, but the wide receiver wasn’t.

Edelman and Gronkowski warmed up together in the portion of practice that was open to reporters. The Patriots have lost two straight games and now will try and rebound against the Texans on Sunday.

Edelman broke his foot during the Patriots’ week 10 game against the New York Giants on November 15. Clearly, having Gronkowski back would help New England deal with sack specialist J.J. Watt, former Patriots defensive lineman Vince Wilfork and the rest of the Texans’ defense Sunday night. “Thanks, buddy”, he said. “I think it’s overhyped in that a couple of guys in that are leaders in that played for a while can give a magic speech or something like that”, safety Devin McCourty, one of seven Patriots captains, stated Thurs. Gronkowski is second with 57 receptions.

Edelman declined to say how much he was able to do.

Edelman’s injury was estimated to sideline him until the playoffs so Friday’s return was an even bigger surprise than Gronkowski’s the day before.

“I’d like to be back as soon as I can, but doing it safely and then smart and just trying to improve each day”, he said.

It’s not as if the Patriots have been struggling on offense, but still, getting a player of Edelman’s caliber back can only make Tom Brady more risky.