New England safety Rodney Harrison wouldn't officially close the door on his playing career, but he sounds as though he's leaning towards retirement. "Right now, I'm doing a lot better, and I can't honestly say if I'm going to play or not right now," said Harrison. "I'm up in the air. Right now, I'm focusing on being able to run up and down the bases with my son, so once that's established, then I'll decide if I want to play or not." Harrison, 36, will soon become a free agent.

The NFL Players Association released the franchise and transition tag numbers on Thursday for 2009, and the Patriots will have to pay Matt Cassel $14.65 million if they franchise him as expected. The cost of a franchise tag is the average of the top five highest paid players at a given position. Cassel's one-year tender would count more against the cap than Tom Brady's contract, who is scheduled to carry a charge of $14.62 million in 2009.

With Tom Brady now expected to be ready for the start of the 2009 season, speculation has increased that the Patriots might look to place quarterback Matt Cassel on the block. "Would you take a Mark Sanchez or a [Matthew] Stafford out of college in the first round, or would you take a Matt Cassel, who has won big games, is 11-5 already, and has experience under his belt for a first-rounder? You'd take Matt Cassel, I would think," former coach Steve Mariucci said. "He's a healthy young guy who has experience. So yeah, he's a first-round [pick] easy. More than a first round. First and something else." Mariucci, who has a reputation of working with solid quarterbacks, continued to praise Cassel. "I would put a high value on him, but keep in mind that he's a young quarterback playing on a very good team," he said. "Ben Roethlisberger was 15-1 as a rookie playing on a very good team. Not often does a youngster at quarterback have that advantage. [Cassel] was fortunate to play on a championship, dynasty type team and be 11-5, a terrific job. You put him on a bad team, and obviously he's not going to be as productive. But he showed some physical skills that were very encouraging. He showed some savvy. Maturity. He did a good job handling the media and handling the situation there with Tom Brady. Those type of things add up, they're all positives."

The Boston Globe has reported that quarterback Tom Brady expects to be ready to play in the team's season opener this coming September. Brady suffered a season-ending knee injury in last season's opener and has had multiple procedures since. "Based on anybody else doing an ACL rehab, he's going right along," a source told the Globe. "He had a shaky start, but he's caught up."

The first 70,000 tickets for the NFL's third regular-season game in London are gone, with 20,000 sold in seven minutes. The Patriots will face the Buccaneers on Oct. 25 at Wembley Stadium. "We have been delighted with the way fans have got behind the game, especially considering the challenging economic climate," NFL UK managing director Alistair Kirkwood said in a statement. "The response is indicative of the must-see nature of our game and the place it has cemented in the UK sports calendar. "Now that people who signed up for our registry of interest have had an opportunity to buy, we are releasing some tickets for general sale. For this game to have sold even more quickly than the previous two NFL regular-season games in the UK is a testament to the support and loyalty of fans here in the UK and proof of a growing audience for the sport."

The Patriots have reacted quickly to the departure of Scott Pioli by hiring veteran administrator Floyd Reese to share duties with Nick Caserio, the team announced on Tuesday. Reese?s title is senior football advisor, and he will be involved with various football-related assignments, including contracts.

If the Patriots decide to keep quarterback Matt Cassel as Tom Brady's backup, he's completely content with the decision. Cassel told Comcast SportsNet's Michael Felger on Thursday night that contract negotiations haven't begun, but he's open to returning in a reserve role. "If the situation is what it is, then I would accept it and I would continue to do what I have done my entire career which is work hard, put my best foot forward and continue to work on the things that I need to and put out my best effort. "This is Tom's team," Cassel added. "The Patriots have been Tom's team. He's built that franchise up with his own two hands. He's the guy, and he was the MVP the year before. I realize that. He's been such a mentor for me that I would say, 'No, there is no quarterback competition.' But I've learned so many things from Tom, and hopefully it'll help me in my career."

Speaking to Fan 590 in Toronto on Wednesday, Tom Brady was upbeat in his first interview in months. "Anyone who's come back from injuries that require surgery, it's just a process," he said. "There's some good days, some bad days, and you just got to keep plugging through them. That's life." Brady was injured in the Patriots' first game of the season, underwent knee surgery in October, and had to deal with subsequent procedures related to an infection. There have been varying reports as to his progress. "I'm in a new part of my career, and I'm excited about rehabilitation and different challenges," he said. "The tough part is you're not experiencing something you love to do. But you get over that and you focus on what you've got to focus on and you just say, 'OK, well, it happened. We're moving on.' "

The Patriots are 6-1 favorites to win the NFL championship on Feb. 7, 2010, according to Las Vegas Sports Consultants, which advises casinos on betting lines. The team was undefeated last season until losing the Super Bowl to the New York Giants. ?The Patriots coming into this year were overwhelming favorites based on what they did last year,? said Mike Seba, Sports Consultants? senior oddsmaker. ?They?re going to have pretty much the same team as long as Brady comes back, so they should be the favorites again.? The Pittsburgh Steelers, who are 6.5-point favorites against the Arizona Cardinals in the Feb. 1 Super Bowl, are second to New England for next year?s game at 7-1. The Giants and Indianapolis Colts are 8-1.

The 1990's Buffalo Bills may not have won a Super Bowl, but they are likely to have more Hall of Fame members than the 2000's Patriots, who won three. "The Bills may have more Hall of Famers than the three-time champion Patriots," ESPN's John Clayton said. "It is what it is." Jim Kelly and running back Thurman Thomas are already members of the Hall of Fame. Defensive end Bruce Smith and receiver Andre Reed are among this year's finalists. Smith should get in on his first try. Reed likely will have to wait a few more years. Tom Brady is the only guaranteed member of the Patriots, with Richard Seymour and Ty Law being very iffy.