Asked to describe his departure from New England, Spikes said, “I don’t really want to talk about that. We can clearly see that me and the Hoodie kissed and made up.

The linebacker, whose reunion with Bill Belichick is one of the more surprising of the coach’s 16 years with the Patriots, was all smiles chatting with reporters after Friday’s organized team activity practice, the third this week for players but the first media were allowed to attend.

FOXBOROUGH — Brandon Spikes may have returned to New England a more mature man, more appreciative of the Patriots — but he can still deliver a great one-liner.


“I’m here, that’s in the past, and I’m moving on. That’s dead.”

The Hoodie, of course, is Belichick. Not one to easily let go of grudges, Belichick has cut ties with numerous individuals over the years for reasons that extend beyond subpar performance.

Spikes later said he was a bit surprised to get the phone call from Belichick about coming back after all that happened during his first go-round in New England.

“I think we’re both happy that I’m here, and we were able to put things aside, let bygones be bygones,” Spikes said. “We’re all moving forward. The 2015 season is right around the corner, and we’re just trying each and every day to get better. Like I said, all of that that was in the past was in the past.

“I’m happy, I’m happy to be home. This is the organization that drafted me, first-class place, and I’m very, very, very appreciative of it.”

A second-round draft pick in 2010, Spikes spent his first four years in the league with the Patriots, and they were tumultuous at times. While on the field he established himself as one of the best run-stopping linebackers in the league, things off the field were different.


There was the sex tape that surfaced during his first training camp, his four-game suspension at the end of his rookie season for violating the NFL’s policy on performance-enhancing substances, tweets that got him in hot water with the public and the team, and the last straw: Spikes’s tardiness to the team facility late in the 2013 season because his car was snowed in.

Though he had played much of the season with a painful knee ligament injury, which would heal with rest and did not require surgery, the Patriots placed Spikes on season-ending injured reserve not long after his snow day.

Not surprisingly, they let him go to free agency when his contract was up in early 2014, and Spikes signed with the Bills.

Never afraid to mix it up with people on Twitter, Spikes rattled many people when he wrote that he couldn’t wait to hand the Patriots two losses that season as a member of a rival AFC East team, and referred to his time in New England as “4 years a slave.”

On Friday, Spikes said he didn’t address that tweet with Belichick or team owner Robert Kraft when he came back to the team. He did admit to surprise when he first heard Belichick’s voice on the other end of the phone.

“I was a bit surprised to hear his voice, the way I left,” he said. “But that’s in the past, and honestly, I’m very thankful to be here and I just want to show him that I’ve changed as an individual, as a player, as a man.


“Better than saying it, I’m going to show him.”

When it was suggested that it seemed big of Belichick to forgive and forget, Spikes’s familiar wide smile lit up his face.

“That’s what I hear,” he said. “Everybody said it’s kind of strange. I have no clue. I know my situation, and I’m very thankful. I see now; it’s all clear for me.”

Buffalo was a respectable 9-7 last year, beating the Patriots in the regular-season finale at Gillette Stadium, but did not make the playoffs. Though it wasn’t a losing season, it was new for Spikes to deal with so many defeats. Florida was 48-7 in his time in Gainesville, winning two national championships, and the Patriots never lost more than four games in any season he was with them.

He wouldn’t quite classify it as a lesson in learning that the grass isn’t always greener on the other side, but Spikes clearly realized a good deal over the last year.

“I needed that separation,” he said. “I needed to just go see. I have to say, I was somewhat of a spoiled brat. I hadn’t lost many games since I was in high school, college. Coming here, we saw the playoffs every year, and it just made me look at things totally different, being on the outside, watching those guys.

“They were in the playoffs, I was rooting for them. It never had anything to do with my teammates, it never was. It was more me as an individual.


“I needed some growing up. We all make mistakes. I’ve made mine. I’ve made tons.

“But I’m here today to be a better person, better man. That’s all I’m trying to control right now. I can’t really speak on the past; it’s in the past.”

He expressed appreciation for his time in Buffalo.

“I’m very fortunate,” he said. “That whole experience, it was great.

“It wasn’t in the cards for me; it was just different. I had an awesome time there, being with those guys, that staff, that organization. Things were different, I had to make an adjustment, but that’s life. The movement, change, a lot of people are uncomfortable with it, but I embrace it all. That’s part of growing as an individual.”

His Patriots teammates have given Spikes a little bit of grief, noting that he missed a heck of a season, one that ended with them winning the Super Bowl. Spikes has taken the ribbing in stride, and said he is driven to earn his own championship ring so he can show it off to his children (he became a father for the first time seven months ago).

He spoke of having an extra edge, a reason to get up earlier in the morning and start his workday, holding himself accountable to teammates and coaches.

The structure of Spikes’s contract — he can earn up to $2 million through incentives — indicates that the Patriots have penciled him into their defensive plans. And with Jerod Mayo (knee) and Dont’a Hightower (shoulder) coming off significant injuries, Spikes has an opportunity to earn playing time.


After almost seeming to enjoy bucking the system, Spikes is now embracing it.

“Nothing’s handed to you,” he said. “You’ve got to earn it here, and that’s one of the reasons why I like playing here, because each and every day you have to prove it, put it on tape, and let the staff know that you should be here and be part of the Patriots.

“Trust me: I know the Patriot Way. And I’m all for it. It works. Clearly, it works.”

Shalise Manza Young can be reached at syoung@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @shalisemyoung.