FOXBORO — It’s been an eventful week for the Patriots linebackers.

A week ago, New England re-signed veteran inside linebacker Junior Seau, and the 40-year-old saw plenty of time in the Patriots’ 59-0 win over the Titans on Sunday. In that game, outside linebacker Adalius Thomas was a healthy scratch for the first time since he was a rookie with the Ravens in 2000.

And at the start of this week, the Patriots released and re-signed outside linebacker Tully Banta-Cain in what was reportedly an effort to create more of a cap-friendly deal. In addition, New England reportedly did the same to inside linebacker Eric Alexander.

Patriots coach Bill Belichick disputed the idea that New England cut and re-signed Alexander on Monday. (“Eric was not released yesterday, contrary to some published reports,” Belichick noted Tuesday afternoon.) However, Belichick did acknowledge that Banta-Cain had been released and re-signed, calling it a “procedural” thing.

“I don’t want to get into a lot of technicalities because I’m not even sure that I could accurately explain them all,” Belichick said when he was asked about Banta-Cain’s situation. “It was a procedural thing and it’s not a big thing.”

Some of the procedures were wrapped up in the fact that both players were on one-year contracts that qualified as “minimum salary benefit” deals under the NFL’s Collective Bargaining Agreement. (Such deals can’t be re-worked in any manner, according to the CBA.) So the team had to release the players if they wanted to re-do their deals.

Banta-Cain and Alexander were at the team walkthrough on Tuesday, and both politely declined an interview request in the locker room — Banta-Cain said he would speak later in the week. Banta-Cain, who is tied for the team lead in sacks with three, confirmed the move while on the air Monday doing an appearance for Sirius Satellite Radio’s “Movin’ the Chains” show, but said the release was made with the understanding that he’s be brought back.

“Yeah, I don’t know…” he said Monday when asked if he had been cut by the Patriots. “There’s some stuff going on in terms of the roster. I’ve got to see what’s up with that situation.”

According to ESPNBoston.com, Banta-Cain, who was on a one-year contract, is now signed through 2011, with his salary for this season nearly tripling from the minimum of $620,000 for vets with four-to-six years’ experience.

As for Thomas, he was also present for the walkthrough, two days after he was inactive for the first time since he was a part-time player his rookie season with the Ravens in 2000. Thomas was not available to the media, but Belichick was asked how things proceeded with Thomas this week.

“Everything’s the same for every player. They’ve all got the same job: come in, learn the game plan, be ready to go,” Belichick said. “Substitutions and playing time are coaches’ decisions; they’re not players’ decisions. A player’s job is to be ready to play, and if he’s put into the game, then to go out there and play his best. All 53 guys, it’s the same for all of them.”

As for what to expect with Thomas going forward, Belichick said the plan remains the same as it ever was.

“As we always do, we’ll activate the players that we feel give us the best chance to win this game, whoever those players are,” he said. “And that goes across the board, all 53 guys.”