Jerome Solomon and Mike Reiss of the Boston Globe reports that over the weekend former Patriots wide receiver Andre' Davis signed with the Buffalo Bills and tight end Christian Fauria signed with the Washington Redskins. "When I signed this deal, there was a part of me that was bummed. There was a nostalgic feeling," said Fauria. ''Some great things happened in New England -- the two-year run of winning games. That time will always be special. I loved it there. We lived there [year-round], laid roots. We have a lot of friends. My only hope is that my experience [in Washington] can be just as good. I think it definitely has potential." Solomon and Reiss also report that the Texans and Titans have made formal contract offers to wide receiver David Givens. As of last night, the Patriots had yet to make an offer but had been in contact with him and figure to be in the mix.
John Tomase of the Boston Herald writes that the Patriots and agent Brad Blank have spoken the last two days and discussed the general parameters of a contract that would keep wide receiver David Givens in New England, though they've yet to exchange detailed proposals. "They're certainly interested," Blank said. "They've always got a chance. They're the team that drafted him."
Mark Farinella of the Sun Chronicle writes that under the new NFL revenue sharing plan, the top five revenue-producing clubs must commit $3 million per year to a pool of funds, with the second five chipping in $2 million per year and the third five adding $1 million per year, to create a pool of $30 million annually that will supplement the income of the league's bottom 17 clubs in terms of local revenue. In addition, each of the top five will make a one-time payment of $4.5 million into the fund this year. That's another $22.5 million to be divided among the lower-revenue clubs.
Ron Borges of the Boston Globe writes that as the deadline closed in for NFL owners to agree to extend the current CBA, Jonathan Kraft's plan created framework that helped combative owners find common ground. Borges writes that the new revenue-sharing plan will contribute $900 million over the next six years from the top 15 revenue-producing teams, much of it from streams of income that kept all that money from coming out of their present revenues.
Mike Reiss of the Boston Globe offers his daily sports blog with Patriots notes. Reiss also offers his latest Patriots mailbag which focuses on new contracts for wideout David Givens and kicker Adam Vinatieri.
Tom Curran of the Providence Journal offers his daily sports blog with Patriots notes and commentary.
