Wes Welker (83) runs a pass route while being guarded by Director of Player Personnel Nick Caserio during an OTA session Tuesday in Foxborough. (AP)

Tuesday morning’s organized team activity (OTA) has just finished up down here at Gillette Stadium, and here are a few notes worth passing along.

•Under gray, relatively humid skies, there were 78 players in attendance for the session that lasted close to two hours. In contrast to last week’s appearance from Tom Brady, the media crowd was considerably smaller than it was for last week’s OTA.While Brady was a part of the workout, the following players were not on the field: WR Tyree Barnes, WR Shun White, WR Brandon Tate, DB Brandon Meriweather, RB Sammy Morris, CB Mike Richardson, DB Ray Ventrone, LB Jerod Mayo, LB Tyrone McKenzie, T Mark LeVoir, NT Vince Wilfork, DL Ty Warren and DL Jarvis Green.

•Wrestler-turned-football-player Jermail Porter continued to work with the offensive lineman, and jumped into the right tackle spot on a handful of drills. As was the case last week, he didn’t do anything to call attention to himself in a negative fashion, and looked nimble and confident for much of the session. (While the starting offense was on the field, Nick Kaczur appeared to take most of the snaps at the right tackle spot.)

•Director of Player Personnel Nick Caserio continues to have a sizable role in workouts. He was on the field for the duration of the practice, and had several one-on-one sessions with players, including Julian Edelman. In addition, Caserio worked with a few receivers in a passing drill, serving as a safety in coverage against Randy Moss on a couple of occasions.

•Not a huge surprise, but quarterbacks coach Bill O’Brien appears to be taking more of a leadership role in the offense. He was calling out plays for much of the day for the offense, including a series where the offense was working on red-zone play.

•In punt return drills, the three return men — Kevin Faulk, Joey Galloway and Wes Welker — were all asked to hold on to at least ball (and occasionally two) while they were fielding another punt. (If you watched “Hard Knocks” with the Cowboys last year, think of the punt-catching drill the Cowboys used with Pacman Jones.) It’s a unique drill I can’t remember the Patriots using before — I’m thinking it was likely it was brought to New England by new special teams coach Scott O’Brien.

•Team owner Robert Kraft watched roughly the last half-hour of practice, and stopped by for a quick hello with the media on his way off the field.

The Patriots have just announced they have re-signed punter Tom Malone. Here’s the full transcript of the press release issued by the team.

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Tom Brady hands hands off to running back Laurence Maroney (39) during an OTA last week. (AP)

FOXBOROUGH – Laurence Maroney knows full well many experts have given up on him. But those aren’t the people he needs to show he can still be a lead back for a Super Bowl contender.

Still only 24 — but with names like Fred Taylor, Kevin Faulk, BenJarvus Green-Ellis and Sammy Morris populating a crowded backfield — Maroney knows that the time is now for him to prove to Patriots coaches and personnel evaluators that he can carry the load and over the course of a 16-game season and playoff grind.

After seasons of 745 and 835 yards in his first two years, Maroney played in just three games last season, carrying the ball 28 times for only 93 yards.

There were murmurs about whether Maroney wanted it bad enough in New England and could his days in Foxborough be numbered. But while Brady was holding court last Thursday during an OTA attended by more media than players, Maroney told reporters that he has never heard those negative rumblings from the football staff.

“They haven’t given any negative feedback. I haven’t heard anything about it. Ask Bill and tell me what he said,” Maroney said.

Told that Coach Belichick isn’t always forthcoming about his player conversations with the media, Maroney smiled and quipped, “I guess you’ll never find that answer.”

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Thanks to Sam Chamberlain, here are a few highlights of Patriots’ quarterback Tom Brady’s Q&A with D&C this morning. (For the complete audio of the interview, click here.)

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Wes Welker stretches during practice Thursday. (AP)

FOXBOROUGH — Wes Welker had the best year of his career in 2007 with Tom Brady calling the signals. He caught 112 balls for 1175 yards. Both numbers were just a tad better than his 2008 Pro Bowl season, spent without Brady under center for 15 3/4 games.

“Anytime you can get back your best player on the team and have him out there, it’s a great deal and we’re definitely excited about it,” Welker said on Thursday during the Patriots organized team activity outside Gillette Stadium.

Last week Randy Moss — who declined to speak on Thursday as he came off the practice field — declared this offense could be even better than the record-setting 2007 bunch that saw Brady throw for a record 50 touchdowns and Moss catch a record 23 touchdowns.

But Welker agreed with Brady in saying there’s a lot of work to be done before jumping to that conclusion.

“We’re just trying to get better right now,” Welker said. “What happened in the past happened in the past and we just have to make sure we’re pushing forward and getting ready for the future.

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Last week’s Organized Team Activity (OTA) behind Gillette Stadium took place on a beautiful spring morning, an unseasonably warm day where temperatures were in the 70s. There were a handful of reporters, and things were fairly laid-back.

Tom Brady carries a bag and ball as he moves from one drill to another during practice Thursday. (AP)

Thursday was a far different story. On a bone-chilling morning far more suitable for football, 96 media members — with some outlets sending as many as six people — sat on the metal bleachers behind Gillette Stadium and got their first look at quarterback Tom Brady since he went down with a knee injury last September. (ESPN, the NFL Network, Foxsports.com and The Sporting News all sent representatives to cover the event.)

Brady looked as good as could be expected. Wearing blue sweatpants and a white practice jersey, he appeared to move cleanly throughout a series of offensive drills. He did not appear to favor his leg at any point, and his throwing mechanics were sound, firing plenty of balls with zip and confidence throughout the workout that lasted close to two hours. (Backup Kevin O’Connell wasn’t as lucky, slipping and falling on the wet grass in the middle of a handoff drill.)

It’s important to remember that this is simply another step in the rehab process, and the quarterback said as much after the workout. (Check out what he had to say here.) But based on what I saw Thursday afternoon, there’s certainly reason for optimism at this stage of the offseason calendar. He hooked up on some nice throws on a couple of occasions, connecting with Greg Lewis on a reception Brady later called “ridiculous.” At one point, he displayed the exuberance of a rookie — early on, he scooped up a ball bag and carried it from one drill to another himself, a thankless job usually reserved for a first-year player.

Oh, and there were 77 other guys on the field too. (I kid, I kid.) Other notes worth passing along include:

•Jermail Porter continues to work with the offensive linemen. The Kent State product, a collegiate wrestling star trying to make the transition to pro football, certainly appeared nimble in the drills I saw him participate in. (He lined up at right tackle on a few occasions in 11-on-11 drills, for what it’s worth.) He still remains a project, but he certainly didn’t do anything to call attention to himself in a negative fashion.

•There was plenty of emphasis on special teams, specifically kickoffs. With so many players currently on the roster — and many of the younger players likely bound for extended special teams duty — it certainly made sense. In addition, there was some emphasis on 11-on-11 situation football, specifically the two-minute offense.

•For what it’s worth, here were the players who were NOT present: WR Tyree Barnes, WR Shun White, WR Brandon Tate, DB Brandon Meriweather, RB Sammy Morris, CB Mike Richardson, DB Ray Ventrone, LB Jerod Mayo, LB Tyrone McKenzie, LB Tedy Bruschi, OL Al Johnson, OL Mark LeVoir, NT Vince Wilfork, DL Ty Warren, DL Jarvis Green.

Here’s the complete transcript of the Q&A between Tom Brady and the media from this afternoon at Gillette Stadium. (Thanks to NESN’s Jeff Howe for part of the transcription.)

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