With the first day of NFL free agency in the books, here are five Patriots-related thoughts:

1. The day came and went with no news regarding Wes Welker. The slot receiver, who wasn’t hit with the franchise tag, reportedly was waiting for his first offer from the Patriots as of Tuesday afternoon. It couldn’t have been a slam-dunk -- or his reps simply want to test the market -- because as of Tuesday night, he was still a man without a team. ESPN’s Adam Schefter suggested that it could be some time before Welker does ink a deal for a few reasons, not the least of which the receiver market continues to shake out. Mike Wallace made the first big splash on Tuesday, landing a five-year deal from the Dolphins that could be worth as much as $65 million, with a reported $30 million. Later in the afternoon, the details of Percy Harvin’s new deal with the Seahawks started to leak -- $67 million over six years, with $14.5 million fully guaranteed. It will be interesting to see where Welker’s fits into that financial picture, especially with some intriguing names still available at wide receiver, including Danny Amendola.

2. There was also little buzz regarding right tackle Sebastian Vollmer. Vollmer, who had reportedly expressed a serious interest in returning, wasn’t one of the players signed at the end of the first day of free agency. Perhaps he and his reps were waiting for the market to set itself, and if that was indeed the case, they had to like what they saw around the league, particularly when it was announced that the Bears had reached an agreement with Jermon Bushrod on a five-year deal worth $35.965, with $17.715 million guaranteed (numbers courtesy of Albert Breer of the NFL Network). Those are the sort of numbers that will push the market in the wrong direction, as far as the Patriots are concerned -- Bushrod was a good tackle, but by no means the sort who would command that sort of payday on the first day of free agency. (For what it's worth, it brough to mind the eye-popping deal that the Redskins gave receiver Pierre Garcon early in free agency last year -- a market aberration, and certainly out of line with what the player might ultimately be worth.)

3. As we wrote here, the Patriots suffered their first loss in free agency with the departure of offensive lineman Donald Thomas to the Colts. Thomas proved to be a valuable backup to Logan Mankins at several points over the course of the 2012 season, starting seven games and doing a good job in protection in both run and pass protection. (According to Pro Football Focus, he was +1.1 in pass protection and +7.8 when it came to run blocking.) In all, he was on the field for 616 offensive snaps and yielded just one quarterback sack and two quarterback hits. He’s not an All Pro, but the latest in a string of backup linemen who has been able to parlay a solid career in New England into a decent payday, and should send a portion of their paycheck they were able to land in free agency to Dante Scarnecchia. (Guys that come to mind who have followed this path include Russ Hochstein and Tom Ashworth.) There are a few options on the roster who could take his spot as a No. 1 backup, including Nick McDonald.

4. The second loss came early Tuesday evening when defensive back Patrick Chung signed with the Eagles. It ended a four-year career with the Patriots and as marked by significant ups and downs, but in the end, the 5-foot-11, 210-pounder, struggled with injury in his time in New England. The former Oregon Duck -- who will be reunited with his former college coach Chip Kelly in Philly -- started 30 out of a possible 64 regular-season games with the Patriots. His best season was 2010, when he started 13 games (a career-high) and finished with 96 tackles (72 solo), three interceptions and nine passes defensed (all career-bests). The writing was on the wall for Chung this year -- with the Patriots choosing to go with Devin McCourty and Steve Gregory at safety and Aqib Talib and Alfonzo Dennard at corner, he was the odd man out, and saw a significant dip in playing time toward the second half of the season. (According to PFF, he played just three snaps in the postseason, and more than half the snaps just twice over the second half of the regular season.) We asked a scout for a breakdown of Chung’s game late in the season, and while he offered some optimism, it certainly isn’t what you want to hear about someone you’re leaning on for significant snaps.

“He lacks great instincts and reactions in deep zone coverage. He’s late often, and has some stiffness. He’s better in short to intermediate zones, and plays with high motor and is willing vs. the run -- he really plays more like a strong safety than a free safety. He has some short area man skills but lacks size. All in all, I see him as an adequate starter but not a big play making type safety.”

5. While the Patriots were quiet, the rest of the AFC East made some moves, with the most noise coming from South Florida. The Dolphins added Wallace, as well as linebackers Philip Wheeler and Dannell Ellerbe. (It has been a tough few days in Baltimore, which lost Ellerbe, defensive end Paul Kruger and wide receiver Anquan Boldin in about 36 hours.) Miami has made several smart moves over the last few days, and the Dolphins still have money to spend under the cap. We’ll see how it translates to the regular season -- usually, the team that wins free agency isn’t one of the ones left standing at the end -- but so far, they’ve done well. Meanwhile, the Bills dumped quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, 18 months after getting a six-year, $59 million contract extension. Fitzpatrick struggled after signing the new deal, and the Bills went 6-10 in 2011 and in 2012. And the Jets cut loose defensive lineman Sione Pouha, ostensibly because they wanted to lock up underrated defensive lineman Mike DeVito. But DeVito was quickly snapped up by the Chiefs, who inked the former Cape Cod high school star to a three-year, $12.6 million deal which included a $4.2 million signing bonus.