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FOXBORO - The nature of Mike Vrabel's absence from practice for the first 12 days of the Patriots' training camp is still a mystery.

But the missing-person alert has been canceled. Spenser's off the case. Vrabel is alive, well and back in uniform.

"It was tough, not being able to get started with the rest of my teammates and working my way back in," the veteran outside linebacker said after practice Tuesday on the fields behind Gillette Stadium. "Coming out today and putting the pads on, I finally feel like I'm a part of the team."

Vrabel spent the first two weeks of the season on the physically-unable-to-perform list for undisclosed reasons. Ever quick with the quip, he offered his own reason for the delay when he met with the media after Tuesday's practice.

"Old age trying to get some rest and get back healthy," he said. "You realize how quick of an offseason it is when you play into February. You're not as healthy as you have been in the past, and you need a couple of extra weeks going into training camp. "But I got a little bit of work in today, and starting to move forward is going to be a big plus for me," he said.

Last year was a long year but a very successful one for Vrabel, who went to his first Pro Bowl after posting 12.5 sacks, the most by a Patriot since new Pro Football Hall of Fame member Andre Tippett posted the same number in 1987. And if his duties as an outside linebacker weren't enough, Vrabel also scored two more receiving touchdowns - bringing his career total to 10 - as a tight end on goal-line situations.

Entering his 12th NFL season, eight of them with the Patriots, Vrabel will turn 33 years old a week from Thursday. But despite the number of miles on his odometer,

and the need he had to spend two extra weeks out of camp, Vrabel said his enthusiasm level is as high as ever.

"Any time you're able to get back on the practice field, you're excited," he said. "Obviously, I was excited to come out there and put pads on. I know those guys have been going at it for two weeks and I'm in a little different scenario than a lot of those guys, but I'm still certainly excited to put the pads back on."

Vrabel said his own joy to be still active on the football field after 12 years stems from the experiences he had as a younger player with the Pittsburgh Steelers, and he saw the love of the game in the eyes of the veterans.

"When I was a young player and I saw a guy that still thought football was fun and exciting, and still had fun going out there and playing the game - guys like Carnell Lake, Dermontti Dawson, Jerome Bettis - now I think (the younger Patriots) can appreciate Tedy Bruschi and Rodney (Harrison) and guys like that, who come out here and have fun playing football," Vrabel said. "I think that they try to follow in their footsteps."

Now, he said, he sees the newcomers to the Patriots' linebacking corps looking up to the veterans the same way he did in Pittsburgh.

"They're just a good group of guys," Vrabel said of the young 'backers. "They're fun to be around in the meetings and they put football first. You look at Jerod (Mayo) and the other linebackers like Shawn (Crable), Vince (Redd) and Gary (Guyton), they're guys that are young, energetic, like football and enjoy playing football ... and think that we can offer them some sort of advice.

"I think the older guys get a kick out of it," he continued, "because they ask us stuff and we try to help them. They're the guys that we're going to be playing with all year." The "playing" part may have to wait, however.

Vrabel said he was willing to strap on the pads for Thursday night's preseason opener at Gillette against the Baltimore Ravens (7:30 p.m.; Ch. 5, 64), but he didn't think Patriots' coach Bill Belichick would sign off on the offer.

"I expect to play when Bill puts me in there," he said. "If Bill puts me in there, I'll play. I'll play, but I don't know if he'll put me in there.

"One day of practice isn't usually enough for Bill," he added. "You've got to have pads on for more than an hour and a half. But it feels great, conditioning-wise. I've just got to start putting these practices together."

MARK FARINELLA may be reached at 508-236-0315 or via e-mail at mfarinel@thesunchronicle.com. Read Farinella's blog, "Blogging Fearlessly," at thesunchronicle.com/farinella.