From Felger this morning:
http://patriots.bostonherald.com/patriots/view.bg?articleid=130116
"On the other hand, there was a school of thought that the Pats had more than enough cap space (nearly $17 million) to match any offer for their Super Bowl hero and were considering doing so. Team vice chairman Jonathan Kraft, in an interview with ESPN Radio-Boston last week, admitted the Pats will have the opportunity to deal with Vinatieri once the offers are on the table.
“Bill (Belichick) and Scott (Pioli) will have the opportunity to determine if the (free agent offer) is the right value,†Kraft said. “It’s their call.â€
Meanwhile, the Pats kept in close contact with the agent for David Givens yesterday, signaling the fact they were poised to give their free agent receiver a competitive offer.
Givens met with the Dolphins in the afternoon and was scheduled to be in Houston today.
The Pats were thought to be non-players for Givens, as they had no conversations with him for over a month after the playoffs, but given the paucity of quality free agent receivers and the amount of room they have under the cap, they have apparently decided to throw their hat in the ring. "
Two nice peices of info, one what we have all thought all along, the Pats and Adam have an agreement about matching his best FA offer, and two, that the Pats had contacted Givens, which would explain the sudden signing.
