Report: Patriots let Brady associate Guerrero fly with team to Carolina

The controversial trainer whose presence around the New England Patriots reportedly caused a rift last year between Bill Belichick and Tom Brady flew with the team to Carolina for a preseason game, sources told ESPN's Mike Reiss.

Alex Guerrero reportedly stopped traveling with the Patriots partway through the 2017 season, leading to speculation Belichick had limited his access. Guerrero, who has served as Brady's personal trainer for the past few years, has been scrutinized for his unconventional training methods.

Guerrero's presence reportedly became concerning for Belichick after other Patriots players began seeing him for injuries instead of the team's medical staff. Guerrero has been more visible around the team throughout the preseason, though, which is possibly a sign tensions have eased ahead of the 2018 campaign.

In addition to Brady, Guerrero has also worked closely with Patriots receiver Julian Edelman and tight end Rob Gronkowski. Edelman is suspended for the first four games of the 2018 regular season after failing a performance-enhancing drugs test. Brady called it "ridiculous" to draw a connection between the suspension and his longtime trainer.

The Patriots will face the Panthers in their third preseason game on Friday night.

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