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FOXBORO - The number is different (32, most recently worn by LaMont Jordan) and there may be a few pounds missing. Other than that, Patrick Pass said he might have been able to wake up any morning this week and believe that he had never left the New England Patriots.

"It's pretty much the same plays and the same offense that I was used to for the last seven years," the veteran running back said Tuesday at the Patriots' 12th and final "organized team activity" of the preseason. "So once I hear the plays, it automatically seems like I've been here. It gives me a chance to go out there and play hard without making mistakes."

But it's more than just that for Pass, the Patriots' seventh-round draft pick in 2000 out of Georgia, who has a complete set of the team's Super Bowl championship rings. It's like coming home again.

"Actually, you know what? I don't really think about it," he said of being a member of an increasingly rare group of Patriots who have the complete set. "Seeing Tom (Brady), Kevin (Faulk) and (Tedy) Bruschi, there's a couple of guys here who were on that first Super Bowl team. It feels good. It was a happy homecoming. A lot of guys were happy to see me back. I felt good because it was like coming home again. It was an easy adjustment."

Pass left the Patriots after the 2006 season as a free agent and eventually landed with the New York Giants in 2007. He played in just one game with them and was not with the team in Glendale, Ariz., when they upset the previously unbeaten Patriots, 17-14, in Super Bowl XLII. That brief appearance was apparently not enough to get him a fourth ring for his collection.

"No, actually I didn't," he said. "If I did, it would have been four for me, but good ... congratulations to them. It's a new year, 2009."

Pass spent 2008 out of football, "just taking care of my family. And just staying in shape the best that I can. I'm married now and my wife and I live in North Providence ... it's a good life."

But somewhere in the back of his mind, the urge to don the helmet and pads had not subsided.

"I'm watching the guys go out there and play football," he said, "And I was kind of sad for a minute because I thought, 'Aw, I should be out there with those guys,' and doing those hard things, but I was still rooting for them.

"I always knew that I could still play this game despite my age," said Pass, 31. "I just made one phone call and asked if I could come up and have a workout, and that worked out well."

Pass requested a tryout with his former team last week and was given the green light to resume his career, at least for the time being. His former number (35) is now worn by third-year veteran cornerback Mike Richardson, but as Pass said, this is almost like a new start for him in every way possible.

"It's just like being a rookie all over again," he said. "You see that some of the guys that are here now weren't here when I was here two or three years ago. A lot of guys are rookies or second-year players, but the team is still the same. They go out and they play hard, just like we did today. It's a different team but the same philosophy."

On the eve of the full-squad, mandatory minicamp, Pass said he felt as if his three OTA practices have been a good indication that he's ready for more.

"I feel good," he said. "I lost a lot of weight ... I'm slim and trim and running around like a young kid again." Listed as 217 pounds, Pass may be a shade under his playing weight in the years when the Patriots used him as a backup fullback. They don't have a classic fullback on the roster right now with the departure of Heath Evans to the New Orleans Saints via free agency, so that may be an option.

For his part, Pass has an open mind.

"If all goes well, I think my role will still remain the same," he said. "Fullback, running back, special teams ... wherever they need me, I'll be more than happy to do whatever they need me to do.

"They know that I can play the game," he added. "They know that I'm a very athletic guy. I'm not going to say that I'm strictly a halfback or a fullback. Wherever they need me to play, I'm more than willing to go out there and do it."

One way or another, Pass believed he would have gotten another shot to play somewhere in the league this year. The fact that he's "back home" is frosting on the cake.

"I never had it in my mind that I would never get another call," he said. "As a football player, we're never done until we feel like we can't go no more, and I never had that feeling. I always thought I could still play this game at a high level."

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.