Patriots quarterback Tom Brady spoke with CNBC on Wednesday morning about his relationship with Under Armour, as well as a few questions about the health of Rob Gronkowski and his relationship with Wes Welker.

Ivan Fears

Patriots running backs coach Ivan Fears is excited about this year’s backfield. Really excited.

Fears, who is entering his 17th season as a member of the New England coaching staff — he’s been in charge of the running backs since 2002 — talked passionately about the group of running backs currently on the Patriots roster.

“It’s my blessing to be the room with those guys. I’m the privileged one,” Fears said after Tuesday’s OTA session on the fields behind Gillette Stadium. “Believe me, Bill [Belichick] goes out and gets a nice bunch of guys to put in that room and guys who are good guys and good people. I’m fortunate enough to be in there with them, working with them. I look forward to that. I enjoy that.

“I take a lot of pride in making sure they come out here and get it done on the field. And that’s what they do. I’m very fortunate those guys want to do that. It makes it easy to coach them when they want to come out here and play and play like they play. So we’re looking forward to seeing what they can get done.”

Fears and the New England running backs are coming off an impressive year — Stevan Ridley evolved into one of the best young running backs in the league, while Brandon Bolden stepped forward to give the group depth. Meanwhile, Danny Woodhead and Shane Vereen provided a steady and dependable option in the role of third-down back, working to provide a pass-catching presence out of the backfield.

However, there’s been some change this offseason. The Patriots lost Woodhead to the Chargers in free agency, and added veterans Leon Washington and LeGarrette Blount. Asked how that changes things for the Patriots’ backfield, Fears responded quickly.

“We’re going to do what we do. We’re going to do what we do. We’re going to find somebody to do what we’re going to do. And that’s what we’re do,” he said when asked specifically about the loss of Woodhead and his pass-catching prowess. “We’ve got a helluva quarterback. We’re going to find someone for him to throw to out of the backfield. Somebody is going to be there.”

To this point, he’s been excited about what he’s seen from Washington, a veteran who has knocked around the league since 2006 working as a third-down back and return man for the Jets and Seahawks.

“He’s going to have an opportunity to show his stuff. Hey, everybody is going to determine that out there by what they do. Not by what I say, but what they do. And if they’re getting it done, they’ll be the guys who are playing,” Fears said of Washington. “I’ve been impressed with him playing and coaching against him. I really have. So we’re kind of excited to have him here and looking forward to see what he’ll do with us. I really am.

“He’s a great guy. He’s a great guy,” added Fears. “And that’s all we every have. We don’t go for the other stuff. Our guys are solid people. They really are. I enjoy being in the room with my guys. I really do. Our guys. Not my guys — our guys. I enjoy being in the room with them. I really do. It’s a lot of fun, and it’s always fun when guys have the same goal in mind. We’re going to come out here and find a way to win. And that what it’s all about. None of the other stuff matters. The impressions, they don’t count. What counts is what they’re going to do when they get out there, when it matters. Let’s see what happens.”

Fears was reticent to give an initial impressions regarding Blount, only to say that he “love[d] being around him.”

“We’ll see what he does,” he said. “It’s kind of early — guy just got here, he’s learning the system. I love him in the meetings, I love being around him. We’ll see what he does when it counts. That’s when you’re really going to love the guy. He gets out here and makes some things happen on the field, then we’re really going to love him. If not, we ain’t going to like him as much. So let’s wait and see. Let’s wait and see.”

Blount certainly brings a different look to the New England backfield — at 247 pounds, he’s one of the biggest backs the Patriots have had in recent memory. Fears was coy when asked if he’s ever had a back that big before, hinting that a certain No. 28 was never at 247 pounds, but was certainly in the neighborhood.

“He was about that, wasn’t he? He wasn’t listed there, but there were many a time when Corey was … he got up there pretty good,” he said with a smile. “I don’t know if he was ever 247, but he was a big back, yeah. Antowain [Smith] was a big back. Not quite 240, but he was a big back also that we’ve had.

“I’m not going to project on what [Blount will] do out there, but I know what I’d like to see him do,” he added. “We’ll see. We’ll wait and see.”

As they have done the last few years, the Patriots will hold joint practices again this summer. It’s already believed that New England will hold joint sessions with Tampa Bay before its game with the Bucs on Aug. 16, and on Tuesday, it was revealed they the Patriots will also hold practices with the Eagles in the days prior to the preseason opener for both teams on Aug. 9.

For more Patriots news, check out weei.com/patriots.

Tom Brady stretches before Tuesday’s practice. (AP)

FOXBORO — The Patriots OTA session took place for roughly 90 minutes on the practice fields behind Gillette Stadium Tuesday. The workout, which was held in jerseys, helmets and shorts under a beautiful blue sky, was the last one open to the media, and the last session held before reporters prior to mandatory minicamp starting next week in Foxboro. Here are 10 takeaways from Tuesday’s action:

1. The biggest takeaway from Tuesday was the fact that the Patriots appeared to get a little banged up. First, tight end Jake Ballard went down in the corner of the end zone after landing awkwardly on his left ankle or foot. He was on the ground for an extended stretch, and while he did get up, he spent the rest of the session on the sidelines watching the action. Then, running back Stevan Ridley caught a pass out of the backfield in 7-on-7 work, but after a few yards, pulled up and grabbed for his right hammy. It didn’t look serious, but he did spend a few minutes on the ground getting stretched out, and appeared to sit out the rest of the workout. Of the three injuries, the most severe appeared to take place when cornerback Alfonzo Dennard went down with a shoulder or collarbone injury. (You got a sense of just how severe it was when he had to be carted off the field.)

2. The following players were not present for the VOLUNTARY session: wide receiver Julian Edelman (foot), cornerback Stephon Morris, running back Brandon Bolden (ankle), linebacker Brandon Spikes (working out on his own), offensive lineman Nick McDonald and tight end Rob Gronkowski (arm, back). In addition, the following players appeared to go through work on a limited basis: safety Devin McCourty, safety Nate Ebner, safety Duron Harmon, wide receiver Mark Harrison, tight end Aaron Hernandez, right tackle Sebastian Vollmer, right guard Dan Connolly and wide receiver Josh Boyce.

3. While he was limited, Hernandez was a pretty steady presence throughout the session. He stretched with his teammates at the start of practice, then went to work in the bubble with McCourty and Ebner, and when he returned to the field, jumped right into a drill with the quarterbacks and receiver Mike Jenkins. While the rest of the team was on the other practice field going through a special teams session (specifically, punt returns), Jenkins and Hernandez caught passes from all three quarterbacks. And at the end of practice, he could be seen on the field catching passes from backup quarterback Mike Kafka and getting some extra work in with Tom Brady.

4. In those punt return drills we referenced, Leon Washington and Danny Amendola appeared to get in most of the work as returners.

5. It’s only May, but it’s been hard not to be impressed by rookie tight end Zach Sudfeld. The 6-foot-7, 255-pounder flashed positively again on Tuesday morning, standing out as the best tight end in the group. He showed a good set of hands, he maneuvered nicely through traffic (catching a few balls with bodies flying around him, including a nice tip-toe catch in the corner of the end zone) and in general, didn’t look overwhelmed by the proceedings, which is all you can expect from a rookie at this time of year. (He saw an uptick in reps when Ballard went down.) Again, it’s very early, but he could force the Patriots to make some tough decisions at the back end of that tight end depth chart.

6. Overall, the offense appeared to struggle at times throughout the session. Backups Ryan Mallett and Kafka had problems in teamwide and 7-on-7 sessions toward the later part of the afternoon. Not sure how much was on the pass catchers and how much was on the receivers, but there were missed connections, incompletes and tipped balls for much of the session. Granted, it’s the first week of June, but it certainly wasn’t the most crisp and/or efficient session for the New England offense.

7. We’re not sure how much of it was team-imposed or simply anger at their own miscues, but it was interesting to see wide receiver Aaron Dobson drop a catch in traffic, and then come back to the offensive side of the ball when the play was done and drop to the ground and do a series of pushups. In that same vein, LeGarrette Blount took a lap around the practice field after dropping a pass in a similar situation.

8. There were two defensive plays involving defensive backs that really stood out. One came when cornerback Ras-I Dowling figure into a nice pass breakup on a pass play from Mallett to Kamar Aiken. (Dowling also forced a fumble.) The second came when safety Steve Gregory picked off a tipped ball on a pass from Brady to Mike Jenkins. (For what it’s worth, in the three OTA sessions, Jenkins has been hovering around Brady on a consistent basis. He’s often been seen chatting with him, but mostly, it’s just about being in the same neighborhood of the quarterback and listening.)

9. The Patriots have always been big believers in playing music for at least a portion if practice, and throughout a sizable portion of the second half of practice, there was music that sounded like it came straight off of Bill Belichick’s personal iPod — classic rock, including plenty of Tom Petty, ZZ Top and Bruce Springsteen. No Bon Jovi, but there’s always mandatory minicamp to look forward to next week.

10. Former Patriots defensive lineman Anthony Pleasant was in attendance, and while he isn’t listed on the franchise masthead in any official capacity, it still wasn’t a surprise to see him on the field in a hands-on capacity. (It was particularly illuminating to see him speaking with rookie defensive end/outside linebacker Michael Buchanan coming off the field at the end of practice. Buchanan had the good sense to be listening to Pleasant — for the duration of their walk, Buchanan’s eyes and ears were open and mouth was closed.) Belichick has always welcomed former players to camp sessions like this one — recently, former New York Giant Carl Banks was on the field with the Patriots for training camp, much to the consternation of some Giants fans,