First it was Asante Samuel. Now, it's Randall Gay.
During the first weekend of the NFL's 2008 free agency period, the New England Patriots lost two of their top three cornerbacks.
Samuel signed on Friday with the first team to host him, the Philadelphia Eagles. Gay, meanwhile, went back to his native Louisiana to join the New Orleans Saints.
"New Orleans was our first choice other than New England," said Gay's agent, Albert Elias, in a Boston Globe article. "If we could not stay there, and that became apparent [Saturday] that it was not going to work out, then New Orleans was our first choice. They showed the most interest in him and it was the best situation for him."
"I think it's a good situation," Elias continued in a Boston Herald account. “It’s his hometown. It’s his childhood team. They stepped up and they were really aggressive. Randall had a good visit and it was a good situation all around."
So what made Samuel, who makes his home in Florida, decide on the Eagles?
"When you come to [a team] that makes you happy, why wait around?" said Samuel shortly after inking his new deal, a six-year $57-million contract.
And there's still no word on what's taking WR **Randy Moss** so long to settle on a home for 2008. Some reports say Moss is happy to return to New England, but is looking around to see if he can increase his value by having teams engage in a bidding war.
But if teams feel his re-signing with the Patriots is a foregone conclusion, they may not be inclined to take the bait.
“If he wants offers, he’s got to convince someone they’re not being used,” one NFL player agent told the Herald.
Also over the weekend, the Cleveland Browns lured Pats WR **Donte' Stallworth** away with a big contract.
With Samuel, Gay, Stallworth, and possibly Moss on the growing list of former Patriots, the Philadelphia Inquirer points out that since the Super Bowl, the Patriots' losses are piling up.
