New England Patriots

New England Pats owner Bob Kraft came face-to-face with one of his most famous ex-WRs this weekend, Wes Welker ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Turns out, the two both happened to be dining at Capo Restaurant in Boston (a pro athlete hot spot) on Saturday night -- before the Patriots took on the Dolphins at Gillette Stadium.

We're told the owner of the place told Wes that Bob was dining in another section of the restaurant -- and Wes decided to go pay his old boss a visit.

A restaurant spokesperson tells us both Wes and Kraft left their parties and sat down at their own table -- where they talked by themselves for roughly 30 minutes and drank martinis.

Unclear what they talked about -- but Welker was telling staffers that he was in town to throw with Tom Brady ... which he did.

The next day, Welker went to the game ... dressed in a Tom Brady mask ... and the fans LOVED it.

No Brady? No Problem.

At least, Patriots superfan John Krasinski doesn't seem worried ... telling TMZ Sports his team will go 4-0 with Jimmy Garoppolo at the helm.

Jimmy had a pretty decent showing in the 1st pre-season game last weekend -- going 11-18 for 168 yards against the Saints.

Can he keep it up against the Cardinals, Dolphins, Texans and Bills??

Convicted murderer Aaron Hernandez is expected to appear in court Tuesday -- where a judge is hoping to set a trial date for the double murder the ex-NFL star is accused of carrying out in 2012.

Hernandez is currently serving a life sentence for the 2013 slaying of Odin Lloyd -- but he's also accused of gunning down 2 men in a drive-by shooting after leaving a nightclub in Boston.

Prosecutors say Hernandez killed the men because one of them spilled a drink on him inside the club.

The 26-year-old ex-New England Patriots star is scheduled to appear in Suffolk Superior Court for a status hearing and the judge has said he hopes to set a start date for the trial.

New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft was in NYC Tuesday night -- so, we had to ask the question everyone wants to know ... "How's Jimmy Garoppolo doing?"

Kraft answered the question positively -- but when we asked if Tom Brady was mentoring his backup QB, Bob just smiled.

Jimmy is all set to start the first 4 games of the season while Tom serves his suspension -- and while Kraft wasn't exactly Mr. Chatty ... Rob Gronkowski recently praised the kid.

"He’s taken a big step over the past two years," Gronk told SiriusXM's "Movin' the Chains."

File Under: EXTREME MEAT SWEATS!!

Here's New England Patriots defensive end Jabaal Sheard lining up in front of a 2 POUND monster steak Tuesday -- in what may have been the most delicious charity challenge of his career.

Sheard hit up Smokey Bones Bar & Fire Grill in Tyngsboro, Massachusetts (about an hour from Gillette Stadium) -- where owners offered to give $4,000 to charity if he could finish the whole thing!

We're told people in the restaurant were so pumped -- several customers added to the pot ... which totaled $5,200!

The good news? SHEARD CRUSHED IT ... devouring the entire Flintston chop in 50 minutes!

New England Patriots star Julian Edelman may have pulled a Tom Brady ... allegedly knocking up a smokin' hot lady ... and then moving on to date a world-famous supermodel.

New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft just unloaded on the NFL -- claiming its treatment of Tom Brady has been horrible, unjust and unfair.

Kraft just issued a statement blasting Tom's upcoming 4-game suspension for his role in Deflategate.

"The penalty imposed by the NFL was unprecedented, unjust and unreasonable, especially given that no empirical or direct evidence of any kind showed Tom did anything to violate League rules prior to, during or after the 2015 AFC Championship Game."

He added, "I am most frustrated that Tom was denied his right to a fair and impartial process."

Kraft also took another shot at the investigation -- calling it "flawed and biased from the start" and noting it "has been discredited nearly unanimously by accredited academics and scientists. "

"What Tom has had to endure throughout this 18-month ordeal has been, in my opinion, as far removed from due process as you could ever expect in this country."

"From day one, I have believed in Tom and given him my unwavering support in his pursuit to rightfully clear his name of any wrongdoing. That support extends throughout our organization and has only grown more steadfast as the preponderance of scientific evidence has exonerated Tom. Unfortunately, this stopped being about air pressure a long time ago."

"This entire process has indelibly taken a toll on our organization, our fans and most importantly, Tom Brady."

"His reluctant decision to stop pursuing further action and to put this situation behind him is what he feels is best for the team in preparation for this season and is fully supported by me and our entire organization."

It's over. Finally.

Tom Brady has announced he's ending his Deflategate fight ... saying, "I have made the difficult decision to no longer proceed with the legal process."

New England Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler says he ain't sweatin' Tom Brady's 4 game suspension -- telling TMZ Sports he's got other stuff to worry about instead.

We shot Butler out Tuesday -- before an appeals court rejected Tom's request for a rehearing in the Deflategate case -- and asked how the team felt about Jimmy Garoppolo possibly filling in for TB12.

Rob Gronkowski went on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" Thursday night and said he was NOT fully naked during the GQ photo shoot ... despite what TMZ Sports reported -- but it's a curious situation.

We reported earlier in the day that RG was in his birthday suit during the racy boat photo with supermodel Hailey Clauson -- but only after a GQ publicist squarely told us in an email, "Yes, he was naked."

Hours later, Gronkowski refuted the claim on 'Kimmel' -- saying he was wearing a tiny Speedo that covered his junk.

We called the GQ rep back -- and spoke with her boss (the communications director for GQ) who gave us 3 different and intriguing explanations.

First, she said Gronk was "definitely naked on some parts of the shoot."

Then she said, "The info I got is what I gave you" ... suggesting there may have been a cover up over not covering up.

Finally, the plot totally thickened with her 3rd point -- "Maybe he didn't want to talk about being naked on Kimmel."

9:23 AM PT -- We asked GQ if Gronk was really fully naked for the shoot.

The answer -- "Yes, he was naked."

Boom.

So, here's a pic from Gronk's highly anticipated GQ article ... in which the photo shoot motivation was apparently, "Surprise! Here's my dong!"

The flashee in the shot is supermodel Hailey Clauson -- who teamed up with the Pats tight end for the cover of the upcoming June issue of the magazine.

The guy who wrote the article about Gronk spent some time embedded with the NFL star and described his life the following way:

"Gronkowski seems to exist in a permanent shower of champagne spray and nightclub-foam-party foam ... all without ever seeming like a creepy douchebag.”

#GronkJustBeingGronk

It was cooking session meets gym session for Patriots safety Patrick Chung this week -- when he stopped a culinary exhibition to do some deep squats ... with a famous chef on his back!

Chung teamed up with celebrity super chef Ming Tsai (you know him from "Top Chef," 'Iron Chef,' etc.) for a fundraiser for Family Reach foundation ... which provides financial aid to families of cancer patients.

But while Chung was prepping his famous jerk chicken dish -- Tsai challenged him to do some squats while carrying him on his back!

Chung accepted ... and beasted out in front of the crowd -- and they loved it!!

They also loved the food -- we're told Chung's got real skills in the kitchen.

Nice work, dude.

Stephen Hawking -- the most wicked smaht guy on the planet -- is now an official fan of the New England Patriots ... and he's got the custom jersey to prove it.

Mark Wahlberg ain't buyin' Calvin Johnson's retirement announcement -- saying he hopes the whole thing is just a ploy so CJ can join the New England Patriots.

Wahlberg was out in Bev Hills when a photog broke the news to him about CJ's retirement from the Detroit Lions.

MW's reaction -- "Wow, well hopefully he just did that to get out of his contract with Detroit. Then he'll come to New England and get a ring!"

"He needs a ring! He's too good ... he's got too much left in the tank."

Wahlberg also talked about Peyton Manning -- giving the guy some serious props ... and predicted how much longer his good friend Tom Brady will stay in the league.

New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft just PRAISED Donald Trump -- saying the guy is one of his closest friends in the world ... but stopped short of an official endorsement.

Kraft -- who supported Obama in 2012 -- issued a glowing statement about Trump to the Boston Globe ... saying he's been a "very close friend of mine for over two decades."

"While I am not comfortable discussing politics publicly, I am very comfortable talking about my friendships with people who happen to be in politics."

Kraft noted the two of them had "a lot of fun together socially, including a very memorable evening in 2005 when I had the privilege of being at his and Melania’s wedding."

But Kraft says the friendship is deeper than partying together ... saying Trump showed his true colors as a friend after Robert's wife Myra passed away in 2011.

"After my wife passed in 2011, he was one of the few people who went out of their way and went above and beyond to assist me through the most difficult time in my life."

"I will always be grateful to him for his thoughtfulness and his continued friendship."

Aaron Hernandez raves about his ex-teammate Tom Brady in a new prison letter obtained by TMZ Sports ... but it's clear, he has nothing but disdain for his former Patriots boss Robert Kraft.

We've verified Hernandez sent the note from the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center on Dec. 10th ... to a female pen pal he'd exchanged letters with in the past.

Aaron -- who's serving a life sentence for murder -- begins his letter on the attack, ripping the woman for criticizing him in her last correspondence ... and suggesting ways she should kill herself.

"Tie a cinderblock to your ankles and jump in a deep body of water," Hernandez writes.

He then suggests, "Buy the most powerful firecracker in the world that's possible to buy, tie it to your face with duct tape, light it and wait for your head to explode."

Hernandez then changes subjects and goes off about his former team -- saying:

"I have a TV in my cell! And yes I still root for my squad and still love all the ones I loved.

The closest I was with was probably Brady and whom I love to death and always will and only hope the best for them. But was cool with Julez, Branch (I f**ked with and got mad love for) and 'the BEST TE ever to walk on a football field' Gronk!"

Hernandez moves from love to hate ... ripping into "fake ass non loyal Kraft who told me he loved me every time he seen me but obviously shows his word ain't sh*t."

Hernandez says no matter what happens to him in prison, he'll continue to support his boys.