For all you dual Pats-and-Sox fans, this is exactly what we just saw with the Red Sox-Teixeira thing. Articles in the media can be taken as gospel, or they can be taken for what they are: agenda-driven peices used to help a team accomplish their goals.
I think (or at least hope) the Pats goal this offseason is 1) keep trumping up the 'Brady might not be able to go' story, then franchise Cassel; 2) determine if Brady will, in fact, be healthy enough to play next year; 3a) if he is, then get picks for Cassel and wish him luck on the way out the door; 3b) if not then...well, that's a whole different story.