The will be a celebration at Fenway Park on Tuesday, but a handful of those being celebrated won't be present.
The joint championship party at Tuesday's Red Sox home opener -- where both the Patriots and their hosts will be feting 2018 titles -- won't be attended by Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, coach Bill Belichick or owner Robert Kraft.
The Red Sox have long celebrated the Patriots following championships, including two years ago after the Patriots beat the Falcons for the franchise's fifth Lombardi Trophy. Brady and Kraft were joined that day by Rob Gronkowski, James White and Dion Lewis.
Brady throws out Fenway first pitch, but Gronk steals the show https://t.co/OtjzNjeFfw pic.twitter.com/0K8MxGXuGn — necn (@NECN) April 3, 2017
Back in 2015, following a Super Bowl win over the Seahawks, Robert Kraft, Jonathan Kraft, Brady and Belichick took the field with their four trophies in hand.
The Patriots have returned the favor in seasons past, welcoming the Red Sox to Gillette on duck boats following the World Series last year. The Red Sox were also clad in Patriots jerseys and brought the World Series trophy to the stadium after their championship run in 2013.
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Two Patriots stars from last season's championship team are expected to be in attendance Tuesday as both Gronkowski and Stephon Gilmore said during recent public appearances that they'd be at Fenway this week. There should be others but it's unclear just how many as the team is still somewhat scattered. The offseason conditioning program begins April 15.
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It makes sense that Kraft would like to remain behind the scenes as his solicitation charges in Florida have not yet been resolved; he released a statement prior to the NFL's Annual Meeting in Phoenix two weeks ago but did not formally meet with reporters during the week.
For Belichick, who was not on the field for the Patriots celebration at Fenway two years ago, this is a relatively busy time of year as his staff is preparing for the draft later this month.
Click here for Phil Perry's Patriots seven-round mock draft 4.0.
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