ORLANDO, Fla. -- New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft said he has met with quarterback Tom Brady and coach Bill Belichick, downplaying any tension in the organization as standard operating procedure while noting the toll that losing Super Bowl LII has taken.
"We met, and I meet individually with each of them," Kraft said Monday at the NFL's annual meetings. "But the thing that I don't know if it's completely understood: Bill and Tom meet a lot and spend a lot of time communicating. I think the residual of this loss was really hard on everyone, but I sort of see that as a high-class problem."
Kraft also said, "The fact that we lost and lost the way we did -- I still haven't gotten over it."
As for tension in the organization, Kraft compared it to his early years in the NFL.
"I've owned the team 24 seasons, and I've had Bill as a head coach for 18 of those seasons," Kraft said. "When I think of tension, I think of my first year as an owner. I love Bill Parcells, but players walked on eggshells and maybe ownership did as we went down the learning curve of how to get along. ... The so-called tension gets greater when you lose."
Kraft stressed that the Patriots have meetings on a regular basis and that they don't answer to a board of directors but instead, "We answer to the fans the best we can."
Along those lines, Kraft was asked what he'd tell fans questioning why cornerback Malcolm Butler didn't play on defense in Super Bowl LII.
"With my fan hat on, you can come up with all kinds of reasons or things, but here's the deal: We in New England are privileged to have, I believe, the greatest coach in the history of coaching," Kraft said. "We're involved in a number of businesses in our family -- we're in 95 countries in the world -- and we try to encourage to have good managers and we want them to be bold, we want them to take risks. Sometimes they work out, sometimes they don't.
"I have faith in Bill as a coach that I don't think there is anyone who has the football knowledge and expertise combined with understanding personnel -- no one can merge those two worlds [like him]. He's done pretty well for us over the last 18 years. So, as a fan, I can question some of the moves. As someone who is privileged to be owner of this team, I encourage him to keep going with his instincts and doing what he thinks is right.
"There is no doubt in my mind, even if he made an error -- and this is true with any of our managers -- that if they're doing it for the right reason, then I support it 100 percent. I've never had one instance in the 18 years where Bill hasn't done what he believes is in the best interest of our team to help us win games."
As for the future of tight end Rob Gronkowski, who said after Super Bowl LII that he would take time to weigh his future, Kraft noted they recently crossed paths. He hinted that he expects Gronkowski to be in uniform and referenced the tight end's appearance this weekend with Shaquille O'Neal at a festival in Miami.
"I saw him a few weeks ago come into the building after hours," Kraft said. "I should say one thing when it comes to Gronk: I've met a lot of people in my life and I've never met anyone like him. If the good Lord lets us come back as someone, I've said it before, he's the most carefree, happy, up kind of guy. I must say, I sort of got excited seeing him vault up on Shaq's shoulders. For a guy that size, to be able to hop up on a 7-2 or whatever Shaq is, that's pretty cool. It speaks well to his potential athletic moves this coming year."
Meanwhile, Kraft was asked about Brady and how he seemed down in the final episode of his docuseries, "Tom vs. Time."
"I think anyone right after a Super Bowl loss -- fortunately we've had the privilege to go to nine of them. Probably we're not quite as jaded, but the loss -- except for winning the first one, when you lose, the feeling of losing [overtakes] the [joy] of winning," Kraft said. "I think Tommy is in that category. I think Coach has been wise and he's told players and people that you don't make any decisions, or go public, with feelings in that few weeks after the Super Bowl loss.
"On the other hand, that piece that Tom did, I think was a great piece for our fans. I think we as a league have to do more of that. I think we have to focus on the game on the field and player safety, and I think we have to bring fans more into our world so they can see how great these players are."