Patrick Pass: From family section to the field

FOXBOROUGH -- Running back Patrick Pass, who was part of Patriots Super Bowl championship teams in 2001, 2003, and 2004, drew a big media crowd following today's organized team activity.

Pass, who signed a one-year, $745,000 contract to return to the team last Thursday, had a few interesting stories.

Out of football for most of the last two seasons, the 31-year-old Pass set up his permanent residence in North Providence with his wife. He said he attended a few Patriots games over the last two years.

"I decided to root for the team. I was a fan and it was fun," he said after his third practice since returning to the team. "It was different sitting in the family section than being on the field.”

Pass, who will vie for a roster spot in a crowded backfield including Fred Taylor, Laurence Maroney, Sammy Morris, Kevin Faulk, and BenJarvus Green-Ellis, also detailed how his opportunity to return to the Patriots arose.

He placed a call to Bill Belichick last Wednesday. Belichick's answer caught him off guard.

“It was surprising but you know, Bill, he’s one of the guys I respect a great deal. He’s not going to tell you anything he doesn’t believe to be true," Pass said. "I wanted to get his opinion and think about some of the things I wanted to do. If he thought I couldn’t play this game, he wouldn’t have given me a shot.”

Pass spent 2007 training camp with the Houston Texans but was cut before the season began. He said he weighed 245 pounds at camp -- the heaviest he's been -- and was mentally taxed as his mother was ill. Pass hooked on with the Giants for one midseason game (he didn't receive a Super Bowl ring for the one-game stint) and when he was released, he decided to focus on his family and put football on the back burner.

Now he's hoping to make the best of his return to New England.

"It was a happy homecoming," he said. "A lot of guys were happy to see me back, and I feel the same."