Two Bills Drive

‘The Patriots, willing to trade their former franchise quarterback within the division after all, accepted a No. 1 draft pick in 2003 for Bledsoe, and heavens to Jim Kelly, the Bills are contenders again.’

‘"We all knew what the situation was," Belichick said of his quarterbacks, Drew Bledsoe and Tom Brady. "A football team can have only one starting quarterback."’

‘The Super Bowl champion New England Patriots concluded their draft with what they hope is a case of addition by subtraction. In the process, they strengthened one of their rivals in the AFC East.’

‘Bledsoe has a $5 million salary this season, $5.5 million in 2003 and $6 million in 2004. On Nov. 1, 2004, the Bills will have to decide whether to pay a $7 million option that triggers the remainder (2005-2010) of the contract.’

‘"I knew if I wasn’t drafted I would be somewhere as a free agent," said Ferguson, the 251st overall pick. "I really wasn’t too worried about it."’

‘"There’s really a buzz here right now," Donahoe said.’

‘Bledsoe told the Patriots he would retire rather than return for his 10th season as a backup to Brady and that he preferred to remain in the AFC East. He turned down a chance to be dealt to Cincinnati.’

‘"For many reasons and at many levels, this was a difficult trade to make,” Patriots owner Robert Kraft said in a statement. "He gave our fans some of the greatest memories in the franchise’s history. Drew Bledsoe is a special player."’

‘"It’s a significant difference from when I came here a year ago, let alone at the end of the season," Williams said. "Obviously, we’ve improved it in a lot of different ways. But now it comes time to continue to work. When we open up training camp, we’ve all got to be on the same page."’

‘”They’ve gotten some value,” said Belichick. “We’ve gotten some, too.”‘

‘"Since Jim Kelly, we haven’t had anybody good."’

Gregg Williams – "Obviously this is a very exciting day. It made us a much better football team. I think that we have done a great job since January in improving (the football team) and I think we’ve taken another great step today in improving (the team) with that acquisition."

We are thrilled to have Drew Bledsoe. We think he is a great quarterback. We think he is a tremendous competitor and he is going to bring excitement and energy to our football team and really provide us with, what we think, will be the type of quarterback that can help us as we go into the future.

‘Even before the deal was announced, the Bills opened their box office to accommodate fans who heard the trade was imminent. Buffalo, which failed to sell out four of its eight home games last season, drew 504,709 fans last year, the lowest since 1987.’

Alex Van Pelt, who showed some promise down the stretch in place of the injured Rob Johnson last season, will be relegated to a backup role. The Patriots drafted Louisiana State QB Rohan Davey in the fourth round Sunday, which signaled something may indeed be in the works for Bledsoe, who was the first pick in the 1993 draft out of Washington State and owns nearly every Patriots passing record.