Boston Herald on Bledsoe and Bills

[Hauss]

Drew to Bills? Don't bet against it <br /><br />NFL Notes/by Kevin Mannix <br />Sunday, March 24, 2002<br /><br />While the Patriots and the Bills have spoken about a trade that would send quarterback Drew Bledsoe to Buffalo, Bills president Tom Donahoe was skeptical at first. He doubted that the Patriots would be willing to trade their former franchise to a team within the AFC East.<br /><br />It's certainly not the norm around the NFL. Nobody wants to send a player to a team in its own division and risk the embarrassment of having him play well against them twice a year, every year. But it's not unheard of. Bill Parcells did it when he took over the Patriots in 1993, sending an unhappy Irving Fryar to Miami for second and third round draft picks in 1993 and 1994 (Todd Rucci and Joe Burch). That particuar trade didn't work out well even though Rucci eventually became a starter. Burch never played a game for the Pats and Fryar had some of his best games against the Pats over the next few years.<br /><br />That won't affect Belichick in this particular case.<br /><br />If the Bills make him the best offer, and he decides that keeping Bledsoe isn't an option, The Franchise better be prepared to pack his long johns for the long western New York winters.<br /><br />Not to mention some frustrating Sunday afternoons against Belichick's defenses. One of the reasons the Pats wouldn't hesitate to send Bledsoe to Buffalo is the success Belichick has had in defending Bledsoe in the past.<br /><br />However, it's not out of the realm that Belichick - or any NFL coach - will get the chance to throw a special defense at Bledsoe. That's because Bledsoe's father, Mac, said yesterday that his son knows he has a couple of options: playing where he's told to play, as well as retirement.<br /><br />``He's not sitting around feeling sorry for himself,'' Mac Bledsoe told the MetroWest Daily News yesterday. ``It's a business. If he wants to play (next season) he goes where they dictate. Or he'll retire. Football is not the most important thing in Drew's life.''<br /><br />As for the story that the Pats quarterback told the Cincinnati Bengals he doesn't want to play there, Mac Bledsoe said: ``Drew never spoke to the Bengals.'' Published reports, however, had Bledsoe's agent, David Dunn, telling Bengals president Mike Brown that Bledsoe didn't want to play in Cincinnati.<br /><br />Finally, Mac Bledsoe explained why his son was a no-show at the parade in Boston two days after the Patriots defeated the Rams in the Super Bowl: ``He just felt like it was someone else's moment in the sun, and that he'd completed his obligation to the team.''

[PCS]

Well, my impression of that and a couple of other reports I read recently, is that if the Bills and Pats can work out a deal, the trigger will be pulled. I think the retirement statement is a message primarily to the Patriots front office and second to teams that may be interested. <br /><br />Patriots to let them know that they had best start working with some folks. He just won't be worth as much after sitting out for a year. strike while tha iron is hot if you will.<br /><br />Other teams to let them know if they are interested, it's time to start dealing. I may not be around that much longer. Either that or more grandstanding.

[indyskinsfan]

As I mentioned in the Carter situation, keep your eye on an outside team that actually wants Bledsoe, but has something they're waiting on. No not the Skins.<br /><br />No one other than, the Bills and maybe two other teams acutally want Drew Bledsoe. I don't see him going anywhere. NE will have to swallow the dollars, unless they do some serious restructing before a release.<br /><br />Next year, I see a lot of new agents that really want to help their client stay on a roster, instead of the streets, because of a greedy agent in 2002.