FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Quick-hit thoughts and notes around the New England Patriots and NFL:
1. He's back and "excited it worked out." Kicker Stephen Gostkowski returned last Sunday from a NFL-USO tour to South Korea, in which he visited U.S. troops and their families at military bases, and he called it an unforgettable and humbling experience.
I have a longer piece on Gostkowski's trip coming soon. As part of our interview on the NFL-USO tour, I asked him about returning to the Patriots after an extended time as an unrestricted free agent, with a two-year deal finalized over the past couple of days.