New England Patriots: How Important Is Tom Brady's 40-Player Workout?

Just about anything the New England Patriots do ends up being big news. Of course, just about anything any team does right now is big news, since...well, there is no "real" big news.

Thus, no one should be surprised that when Greg A. Bedard of the Boston Globe reported that Tom Brady was holding players-only workouts at Boston College, media outlets across the northeast ran with it.

Except that I was surprised. Not at the fact that they were holding the workouts, but that after weeks of mindless drivel about team workouts,

This shouldn't be a big deal, I thought. Why is everyone making such a fuss?

Then I read on.

"There are between 40-60 players in attendance, including several rookies (Nate Solder, Ras-I Dowling, Shane Vereen, and Ryan Mallett)."

Okay, Bedard. Now you've got my attention.

I've long said that getting the rookies some level of exposure to the systems was immensely important. Of course, nothing will compare to the coaching they will receive from their position coaches. Still, any little bit extra could be the difference in comfort level if and when a shortened preseason is sprung upon the players.

I read on.

"It appears just about every starter is in attendance, including Wes Welker, Deion Branch, Jerod Mayo, Devin McCourty, Rob Gronkowski, Patrick Chung, and BenJarvus Green-Ellis."

Good, good. Those veterans have to keep the rust off, as it accumulates even faster in the waning years of one's career than earlier on. For the second and third year guys like McCourty, Chung and Gronkowski, it's just as important for them to build off their momentum from last year.

I read on.

"Also of note: Ty Warren, Mike Wright, and Aaron Hernandez are working out. Warren and Wright ended the season on the disabled list, and Hernandez had postseason hip surgery. This is the first group football activity for them in some time."

Let's start by saying that this is probably the first group football activity for most of these guys in some time, but I digress.

No matter how helpful these workouts are or aren't from an X's and O's standpoint, some of these guys—Warren and Wright, namely—have been away from football for a long time. Any steps they can take to get back in the groove are the right ones.

With labor uncertainty throwing everything through a loop, the same can be said for all of these guys. All 40-plus.

Erik Frenz is the co-host of the PatsPropaganda & Frenz podcast. Follow Erik on Twitter @erikfrenz.