Aaron Hernandez Trial: Key Takeaways from Robert Kraft's Testimony

The trial of former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez continued Tuesday with team owner Robert Kraft taking the stand. Kraft's testimony consisted mostly of discussing what happened in a conversation with Hernandez.

Kraft's first words at the trial were to announce where he worked and what he did there, per Jenny Wilson of the Hartford Courant:

One key bit of testimony from Kraft, per Dan Wetzel of Yahoo Sports, was that in his conversation with Hernandez the star tight end claimed he was innocent and at a night club at the time of Odin Lloyd's murder:

Per ESPN New York's Jane McManus, Kraft stated that Hernandez gave the Patriots owner a hug and a kiss for his concern about the matter:

"

After conversation, Patriots owner Robert Kraft said Aaron Hernandez "hugged and kissed me and thanked me for my concern." #NFL

— Jane McManus (@janesports) March 31, 2015"

Per Melissa Randall of ABC 6 in Providence, two days after Lloyd was murdered, Kraft walked into Gillette Stadium with media and helicopters around the building with Hernandez using the team's weight room facilities:

After the prosecution ended its line of questioning, Hernandez's defense got an opportunity to go over things with Kraft. The first thing they tried to do, as noted by Wetzel, was to attempt to show how the Patriots regarded Hernandez prior to his release from the team:

This has been a common theme for the Hernandez defense throughout the trial. Kraft noted that Hernandez claimed he was innocent, per Judy Battista of NFL.com:

In regards to how close Kraft and Hernandez were, the Patriots owner said on the stand that he didn't know a lot about the 25-year-old away from the football team, per Michael McCann of Sports Illustrated:

Also from McCann, Kraft did note that Hernandez mentioned Lloyd more as an acquaintance because of connections between their respective families than actual friends:

There were two big takeaways from Kraft's testimony. First, per McManus, is that he didn't recall many specifics from his conversation with Hernandez even though the lawyers tried to help him get the answers:

Second, Kraft seemed uncomfortable at times during the testimony. His body language and answers were not what we usually see from him at a public event. It's certainly understandable because this is a wholly unique situation. Wetzel pointed out the difference:

This was an important moment in the trial. Kraft showed faith in Hernandez when the Patriots signed him to a long-term contract extension in August 2012. The defense used that specific deal as a way to get Kraft to talk about the kind of person Hernandez was before any of this occurred.

It's unclear right now whether Kraft's testimony will change the ultimate outcome of this case, but he was certainly a key witness for both Hernandez's defense and the prosecution.