The Patriots had one overarching goal this past week at minicamp, and it had very little to do with football:

Show a united front, and squash all of the drama surrounding Bill Belichick, Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski, and Alex Guerrero.

Belichick did a superb job on this front. “It’s a voluntary program,’’ he noted when asked why Brady skipped organized team activities this spring. “I’ve always had a good relationship with Tom,’’ Belichick said when asked how he’s doing with his star quarterback. “They’ve always been that way, ever since they’ve been on our team,’’ Belichick responded when asked if Brady and Gronkowski are committed to the team.

Gronkowski did a great job of explaining himself, too. Yes, he acknowledged, there were times this offseason when he considered retirement. Yes, he would like a new contract — “Who wouldn’t?’’ he said. Yes, Gronk skipped OTAs because he wanted to train on his own.

“I had to do what I had to do,’’ Gronkowski said. “See where my body was at, see where my mind was at, and I’m glad to be back out here. I feel like I definitely made the right decision coming back out.’’

But then Brady finally took the podium after Thursday’s practice. And either he needs to take media coaching from Belichick and Gronkowski, or he wants the drama to linger, to let it be known that he’s still upset with Belichick and the organization.

Because that was the big takeaway from Brady’s four-minute, wholly unconvincing news conference. Brady stammered and stumbled awkwardly through 11 questions before the Patriots’ PR team quickly ushered him out of harm’s way.

Brady was asked what changed for him this year to decide to stay away from OTAs, after espousing the benefits of the practices for so many years, and how they are the place where he sets the baseline for the season.

“Yeah, I mean, it’s always important for everybody and um, you know, our coaches do a good job of getting us ready,’’ Brady said. “And, you know, just some personal reasons for me. But, you know, but I’m here now, and focused on what I need to do as I always am, and, um, like I said, I’m looking forward to this year.’’

The “personal reasons’’ answer was interesting, and opened the door for a natural follow-up on Belichick. Was he one of the personal reasons that Brady stayed away this spring?

“Not at all. I mean, no,’’ Brady said.

So what’s the relationship like with Belichick?

“It’s great. We’ve always had a great relationship,’’ Brady said with a straight face. “I, um, I’ve been here for a long time and, uh, you know, I love this team, I love this organization, um, you know I love playing quarterback for them. I loved it last year and um, I’m having a lot of fun now. So that’s obviously what’s most important to me.’’

Even the most ardent Brady supporter has a hard time believing that explanation.

Brady never said what the personal reasons were that kept him away from Foxborough this spring. He said in his documentary that he owed it to his family to spend more time with them, but skipping OTAs was certainly about more than family. He wanted to sell Tag Heuer watches in Monaco and do a Best Buddies global initiative in Qatar and do an appearance with his business partner Jim Gray at a conference in Los Angeles. Brady had enough of putting his life on hold in the offseason so he could participate in OTAs, which arguably have little effect on how the regular season unfolds.

And if Brady had said something to that effect, it would be easy to understand. Gronk’s answers were direct and to the point, and he came out of his news conference looking good.

But Brady talked himself in circles, like when he was asked why skipping OTAs won’t affect his performance this season.

“Every year has different challenges, you know?’’ he said. “I mean, there’s some years where obviously this team has very high expectations, we’re trying to win every game, and um, you know, that’s what our goals are. So, I think those things, we have a lot time to work on literally. Figuratively, there’s a long way to go, and um, you know, we have a lot of work to do, and it’s going to be up to us individually to prepare as best we can and then collectively when we come together we do the same.’’

Brady did answer directly when asked if he considered retirement this offseason — “No,’’ was his one-word answer. Earlier this spring at the Milken Institute talk in Los Angeles, Brady quipped that his wife has given him permission to play two more seasons.

But Brady revealed little on Thursday, and looked like he’d rather be anywhere but speaking to reporters.

He didn’t want to say whether he wants a new contract. He didn’t stay at the podium long enough to be asked why he said, “I plead the fifth!’’ when asked at that Milken talk whether he feels appreciated by Belichick.

He didn’t want to discuss whether he still has the same drive and passion for football that helped him achieve his greatness.

And Brady wouldn’t even commit to joining his teammates at OTAs this coming week. The Patriots have three more voluntary practices before breaking for the summer. How hard would it be for Brady to stick around for a few more days and get some throws in with his new receivers?

When asked if he’ll be back this coming week, Brady answered, “We’re not even through today yet. We’ve had a good three days and been working on the things we need to work on. That’s what I always focus on.’’

Read: No, I won’t.

So while Belichick and Gronkowski did their best to minimize the drama, Brady either couldn’t or wouldn’t do the same.

PLAYING POLITICS

President, league on opposite sides

If there is anything we learned in the last week, it’s that the divisiveness between the president and the NFL isn’t going to end just because the owners instituted a new policy banning players from kneeling for the national anthem.

The Eagles’ trip to the White House turned political and nasty, with President Trump canceling the event after it became clear that fewer than 10 people from the organization were actually going to show up. The White House blasted the Eagles as unpatriotic and accused them of trying to make Trump look bad.

Eagles safety and de facto player spokesman Malcolm Jenkins responded by not talking — using posterboards instead to get his message across in his media session.

“You’re not listening,’’ one of Jenkins’s posters read. He also highlighted some of the work being done by NFL players, such as Chris Long donating his entire 2017 salary for educational programs, Colin Kaepernick donating $1 million to various programs, and several Patriots working with lawmakers on raising the minimum age for children to be incarcerated from 7 to 12.

If the NFL owners thought that changing the policy to ban kneeling would get Trump off their case, they were sorely mistaken. Trump has continued to hammer the players and the league for the past three weeks, and CNN reported that Trump plans to keep the NFL in his crosshairs through the 2018 midterm elections.

Interestingly, Trump threw the players a bit of an olive branch this past week, saying that he’s going to ask players for suggestions on people he should pardon from prison.

“I’m going to ask them to recommend to me people that were unfairly treated and I’m going to take a look at those applications and if I find and my committee finds that they’ve been unfairly treated then we’ll pardon them. Or at least let them out,’’ Trump said.

Of course, many of the players are protesting police brutality and systemic racial inequality, which Trump can do little about. And it probably won’t be easy for the players to trust and cooperate with Trump, given the bad blood between the sides.

ETC.

Ravens again slapped on wrist

Tom Brady said it best about the Ravens back in the 2015 playoffs, when they were complaining about the Patriots’ eligible/ineligible trick plays:

“Maybe those guys got to study the rule book and figure it out,’’ he said.

That saying still applies for the Ravens, but now in a new context. The NFL punished the Ravens yet again for breaking offseason workout rules, the third time they have done so under coach John Harbaugh. The Ravens were docked a week of offseason workouts in 2010 for the intensity of their drills and tempo of practice, and lost three OTAs in 2016 for having players wear pads for part of practice.

This time, the NFL forced the Ravens to cancel two OTAs this past week and fined the team and Harbaugh undisclosed amounts. According to a statement from Harbaugh, the offense was too much contact in coverage drills during the early part of OTAs.

“We have heavily emphasized these CBA pass coverage rules in meetings, and coached them diligently on the practice field,’’ Harbaugh said. “Even with consistent and repeated teaching, these rules pose considerable adjustments for the young players . . . I am confident we have done everything within our power and ability to practice within the rules, and we will continue to focus on preparing, teaching, and practicing the right way.’’

The violations, if Harbaugh is to be taken at face value, don’t seem major. However, this is now the Ravens’ third violation of offseason rules, and second in the last three years. Yet the penalties still seem like a slap on the wrist.

T.O. says he won’t go

You can always count on Terrell Owens to take something that is supposed to be nothing but positive and turn it into a reason to dislike him.

Owens, who finally got elected to the Hall of Fame this year in his third try, after complaining loudly about being snubbed the first two years, announced this past week that he’s actually not going to attend the induction ceremony in early August.

“While I am incredibly appreciative of this opportunity, I have made the decision to publicly decline my invitation to attend the induction ceremony in Canton,’’ Owens said in a statement. “After visiting Canton earlier this year, I came to the realization that I wish to celebrate what will be one of the most memorable days of my life elsewhere.’’

Owens didn’t reveal why he is planning to boycott the ceremony, and how his visit to Canton factored into his decision.

If Owens is upset with the highly political Hall of Fame process, he should say so. If he doesn’t want to spend the money to travel to Ohio and host a big party for the weekend, he should find a way to get that message out, too.

But it’s also possible that Owens is just being selfish and oversensitive about taking three years to get into the Hall.

Owens was an electric talent and is a worthy Hall of Famer, and he has the potential to give a fascinating induction speech about his roller coaster career. But if he doesn’t want the adulation, the show will certainly go on without him.

Domestic violence expert resigns

The Washington Post published an interesting op-ed piece this past week from Deborah Epstein, the co-director of Georgetown University Law Center’s Domestic Violence Clinic. The not-so-subtle headline: “I’m done helping the NFL Players Association pay lip service to domestic violence prevention.’’

The NFL has taken plenty of heat over the last three-plus years for being more about words than action when it comes to domestic violence, but according to Epstein, the NFLPA is just as guilty.

Epstein said she resigned on May 23 from the NFLPA’s commission on domestic violence, which was created with Epstein as an original member in the aftermath of the 2014 Ray Rice incident, because it was a body “that exists in name only.’’

“My resignation brought to an end a nearly four-year association with the NFLPA that was, by turns, promising, inspiring, and deeply frustrating,’’ she wrote.

Epstein said the NFLPA didn’t seek to implement any of the recommendations “of concrete steps that would go a long way toward dramatically lowering the risk of domestic violence in professional football,’’ and that most of her ideas were met with “radio silence.’’

“When I was asked to join the commission, I told NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith that I was leery of associating with an organization that might just be paying lip service to the defining issue of my career — so that, in essence, the NFLPA could say it was confronting domestic violence abuses long enough for the Rice story to fall out of the news cycle,’’ Epstein wrote. “But clearly that has not been the case. Authorizing a single study, and then burying it through a confidentiality agreement and shelving its recommendations, does not constitute meaningful reform.’’

Extra points

Best of luck to two people dealing with cancer. Giants GM Dave Gettleman, a Mattapan native, announced last Tuesday that he has been diagnosed with lymphoma. Gettleman, 67, will continue to work while he goes through treatment. And Friday afternoon, the Texans announced that safety Andre Hal has been diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma. “I do not want anyone to feel sorry for me,’’ said Hal, a fifth-year veteran and only 26 years old. “I know how to beat this and I will beat it.’’ . . . The Chargers only moved a couple hours up the road to Orange County, but they completely abandoned the San Diego market last year, and now the Rams are pouncing on the opportunity. San Diego radio station The Mighty 1090, which held Chargers rights for many years, announced that it will air Rams games, not Chargers games, for the 2018 season. “I look forward to invading San Diego,’’ Rams GM Les Snead told the station . . . Texans coach Bill O’Brien said he has noticed significant maturity in second-year quarterback Deshaun Watson, and has been impressed with how he is carrying himself and rehabbing from a torn ACL. “He has a consistent, daily approach,’’ O’Brien told the Houston Chronicle. “He’s in the building every morning at 6 a.m. He’s taking care of his body. He’s eating correctly. He’s in the meetings. He’s focused in the meetings. He’s ready to go. He has good ideas.’’ . . . Browns coach Hue Jackson is making his players earn their stripes. Jackson has removed the thick black-and-white stripe down the middle of his players’ helmets, and only players that make the 53-man roster in September will get theirs back.

Ben Volin can be reached at ben.volin@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @BenVolin. Material from interviews, wire services, other beat writers, and league and team sources was used in this report.