Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com takes note of the fact that here on the Patriots Web site is a poll on this question: If T.O. wanted to play for the Patriots, should New England sign him?

Florio speculates that perhaps this indicates an interest in T.O. by the Pats:

"Though we don't want to read too much into this, the Patriots usually have a purpose for everything they do. And it's hard not to wonder whether they're at least considering the possibility of trying the same foot-on-throat/one-strike approach that they applied to Randy Moss a couple of years ago.

Keep this in mind: Owens torched the Pats in Super Bowl XXXIX, and coach Bill Belichick has a long memory.

Of course, the Patriots weren't interested in Owens three years ago. So, as Redskins executive V.P. Vinny Cerrato said Thursday as to his own team, why would the Pats feel differently three years later?

We see two possible distinctions.

First, maybe former V.P. of player personnel Scott Pioli was adamant about avoiding T.O. (Pioli, of course, is now the G.M. of the Chiefs.)

Second, maybe the Pats think that Owens' salary expectations will be much lower now than they were when he received 25 million reasons to live from the Cowboys.''

Read the rest of Florio's post here.