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FOXBORO - This was the easy one. There will be much tougher cuts to come.

Five players were removed from the Patriots' active roster Tuesday, including three offensive linemen, two of whom had significant roles in the position group.

The good news? They'll be getting one of those back.

Seventh-year guard Stephen Neal was transferred from the active physically-unable-to-perform list to the reserve-PUP list, as he continues his recovery and rehab from offseason knee surgery.

Neal will be lost to the Patriots for a minimum of six weeks. According to the NFL, he can be reactivated at any time after Oct. 14 during the three following weeks, entering a 21-day window in which he will not count against the active roster. At any time during that transitional period, the Patriots can decide either to activate him or to place him on the injured reserve list for the remainder of the season. Once that period is complete, however, the team must either activate or place the player in question on the IR list by 4 p.m. Eastern time on the day after the 21-day period ends.

Not so fortunate was third-year tackle Ryan O'Callaghan, who went on the injured reserve list Tuesday with a shoulder injury. He's gone for the year.

Released were second-year fullback Kyle Eckel, ninth-year cornerback Jason Webster and rookie offensive lineman Ryan Wendell. Webster was injured for most of training camp and saw the practice field for the first time late last week.

The Patriots' next cut, to the 53-man regular-season roster limit, must be completed by 4 p.m. Saturday.

"It's hard," Patriots' coach Bill Belichick said of the process of trimming his roster. "The players work hard and give a lot. Some of them have given a lot for a number of years - it's not all rookies that we are releasing. You develop a relationship with the guys. They have won for you, played for you and given you everything they've got.

"At some point, you have to make those decisions," he said. "It's one of the least fun parts of the job."

Quick kicks

Tom Brady (sore foot) was again missing from practice Tuesday, after joining the workouts on Monday. Wide receiver Wes Welker (ribs) was also among a group that missed the portion of practice the media can watch. Neither are expected to play in Thursday's preseason finale against the Giants in East Rutherford, N.J. (7 p.m.; Ch. 5, 64) The Patriots announced that the induction of Ben Coates into the Patriots Hall of Fame will take place on Saturday, Sept. 20, the day before they play Miami at Gillette Stadium. The ceremony will take place in the plaza in front of the Hall at Patriot Place, the new football museum at the stadium, beginning at 3 p.m., and will be free of charge to attend Linebacker/special teams standout Larry Izzo was presented with the Ron Burton Community Service Award Tuesday night at the Patriots Charitable Foundation Kickoff Gala, held at Gillette Stadium.