FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Quick hits from director of player personnel Nick Caserio’s news conference on Tuesday:

Praise for safety Gregory. Asked how veteran free agent safety Steve Gregory has integrated into the mix – working alongside Patrick Chung – Caserio was complimentary. “Steve has done a nice job. He’s a versatile player. He was able to do a number of different things in San Diego’s defense. I think some of the things we’re doing are a little bit different, just systematically, but he’s indoctrinated himself into our system well and has done a nice job to this point. He’s been here since Day 1 of the offseason. So far, so good.”

Interest in free-agent OT Chad Clifton? Reports have linked the Patriots to free-agent offensive tackle Chad Clifton, and Caserio was asked if he could confirm that the team was bringing him in for a physical. “There is no truth to that,” he responded.

No updates on Waters. Asked if the Patriots have any certainty that veteran guard Brian Waters will play for the team in 2012, Caserio said he “didn’t have any updates.” Asked if the Patriots internally have a sense of where it’s going and simply don’t want to share that publicly, Caserio said, “Really, everything is day to day. We’ll take today and deal with today, and then whatever happens tomorrow, we’ll take that as it comes.”

Contact with Andre Carter? Asked if the team has had any contact with free-agent defensive end Andre Carter at this time, Caserio said he has discussions with agents for a lot of players and that "we're no different now than we were a few months ago."

Now 88 players on roster. Caserio said that after waiving receiver Britt Davis and linebacker Dane Fletcher on Tuesday, there are 88 players on the 90-man roster.

Today’s practice plan. The plan for Tuesday’s practice is to continue situational work, “which has been a big emphasis and theme for us this week.” The hope was to simulate many game situations that may come up at any point in the season. From an overall perspective, Caserio said, “I think the team is moving in the right direction, and we’ve had some good practices here the last few days.”