Just because the team may have expressed some interest in him by making discreet inquiries does not mean they are going to sign him, or even attempt to negotiate with him. Perhaps nothing happens after the initial feelers.
Conversely, maybe something will come of it. Who knows?
Some things can be deduced, however, by the way things are playing out here with the advent of the free agency period.
As another poster mentioned on another thread, it appears BB is clearing the decks. He learned some hard, harsh lessons in Cleveland, and is not about to repeat them.
They are awfully quiet. I mean awfully quiet. Their silence/inactivity, given their widely perceived needs, only serves to draw attention to themselves. This is especially magnified by the huge amount of cap room they have.
Every perceived move, real or imagined, is being done against the backdrop of CIA-like secrecy. Why is this a factor? One has only to look back at last year, when we all learned about the Pats' interest in Derrick Mason only after the fact. I strongly suspect that if any moves are made, we'll only learn about it after the trigger has been pulled on it. In a word, we'll all be totally surprised.
The fact that after Branch they have no WR corps worthy of the name has not stopped them from shopping one they still have under contract. If he's being shopped, it's being done with a larger objective in mind. Although the Patriots are doubtless disappointed in BJ, remember, he was a 2nd round pick, and as a matter of policy, the Pats are reluctant to simply write those off.
Although injury did ravage the O-line last season, I'm sure the Pats are looking to spend a lot of time, money and effort in bringing maximum efficiency to this important area. It's entirely possible something of import will happen here.
Obviously, however, the wheels in the minds of these Machiavillan plotters who run the Patriots front office are churning non-stop.
A big trade or 2 is possible, but for who?
They are obviously looking to reload, and some very interesting things will doubtless happen on draft day.
Even more, they seem to be looking forward to the 2007 draft, or are stockpiling picks from that draft for future trades. How many comp picks are possible in that draft, given the way things have gone down so far? No, they cannot trade those picks, but they can with those they already own or acquire. I look for big things to happen in that realm.
As a practical matter, there is really little left (in terms of the Pats' needs) in the free agent arena. So if they are going to do things, it will be via trade or the draft.
These guys have a track record like no other today. They know exactly what they are doing. The free agent deals from last off-season (some of which were thrust on them from events beyond their control) left a bitter taste in the organization's mouth. They do learn from their mistakes.
I'm really looking forward to what goes down here....
