ATTENDANCE, PLEASE

■ T Nate Solder was the only surprise absence of the day. RB Dion Lewis, TE Bryce Williams, G Jonathan Cooper, and T Sebastian Vollmer were not spotted.

■ WR Danny Amendola was at the session but not practicing, though he did help the receivers during agility drills, looking very much like an assistant coach.

NEW INJURIES: WR Julian Edelman (foot), DE Rob Ninkovich (triceps).

DRESS CODE: Full pads.

THREE UP

■ Cyrus Jones: The rookie was flawless on his punt returns, had a pair of pass breakups, and won both of his 1-on-1 battles with fellow second-rounder Michael Thomas.

■ Dont’a Hightower: One of the most active players of the day, the linebacker consistently pressured the pocket and most assuredly would have collected some sacks if not for those pesky red jerseys.

■ Logan Ryan: The physical corner played tight coverage in 11-on-11s and also recovered Tim Hightower’s fumble. For good measure, he broke up a pass in his 1-on-1 showdown with Brandon Coleman.

THREE DOWN

■ Edelman: Shortly after completely undressing rookie safety Vonn Bell in 1-on-1s, the receiver tweaked his left foot and was forced to leave practice.

■ Ninkovich: One of the steadiest and most durable Patriots over the last seven years, the linebacker was also forced out of practice with a triceps ailment.

■ Jonathan Jones: The rookie free agent corner had a rough day in coverage, including losing a pair of 1-on-1 battles against fellow diminutive rookie Tommylee Lewis.

TOP PLAYS

■ Saints rookie first-rounder Sheldon Rankins, a defensive tackle, picked off Tom Brady on the QB’s first attempt in full-team action.

■ Defensive lineman Geneo Grissom got his hands on a Luke McCown pass and it ricocheted about 100 feet in the air (unofficial distance to be sure).

■ Safety/ball hound Duron Harmon made a diving pick off of a McCown pass over the middle.

■ RB LeGarrette Blount bobbled then secured a Jimmy Garoppolo pass, despite getting jostled by Saints defenders.

■ Saints safety De’Vante Harris came up with an interception of Garoppolo when Harris and Aaron Dobson had a lengthy rugby-like scrum after they appeared to simultaneously catch the ball.

■ Cyrus Jones batted away a nicely thrown ball by Drew Brees intended for Willie Snead.

■ Malcolm Butler flashed his quick hands and broke up an end-zone pass intended for Brandin Cooks.

■ Cooks came back a few series later and made a sweet end-zone catch over Butler on a perfectly placed ball by Brees.

ODDS AND ENDS

■ Appropriately, the Gillette DJ started the day with the Rick Ross hit “Everyday I’m Hustlin’ ’’ as both teams sped through agility drills.

■ Coach Bill Belichick and many members of his staff sported Team USA rugby T-shirts with Nate Ebner’s No. 12 on the back.

■ Belichick spent time talking with Patriots Hall of Famer Tedy Bruschi on the field during stretching.

■ The Patriots’ Justin Coleman and Brandon King got into a minor shoving match with New Orleans’s Reggie Bell during a punt-coverage drill. Each got sent to the box for two minutes for roughing.

■ Brady was 7 for 11 during full-team drills. Garoppolo was 7 of 15. Both had an interception.

■ Center Bryan Stork, who recently returned after a concussion, was mauling defenders during 11-on-11s.

■ Shea McClellin, playing a lot of left end with Ninkovich out, was getting consistent pressure during 11-on-11s.

■ Ditto for Trey Flowers, though he did run a penalty lap at one point for an unknown infraction.

■ Jacoby Brissett was 4 for 7 in his lone full-team series and would have had a gorgeous deep TD pass to fellow rookie Malcolm Mitchell if not for an obvious pass-interference penalty on Jimmy Pruitt.

■ Mitchell absolutely roasted Pruitt in a late 1-on 1-drill with Brissett hitting him with a deep TD pass.

■ Referees were assigned to the session, but apparently a few of them had their flags sewn to their pockets because they let a lot of things go.

■ With touchbacks coming out to the 25 this season, many teams may turn to shorter kickoffs, which is probably why Grissom was working on fielding kicks late in the session. The defensive lineman snagged every last one without a bobble.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE:

Wednesday: Practice with Saints, 9:15 a.m.

Thursday: Exhibition game vs. Saints, 7:30 p.m.

Friday and Saturday: No practice.

Jim McBride

Jim McBride can be reached at james.mcbride@globe.com