Bills Acquire Bledsoe From Patriots

The New England Patriots traded Drew Bledsoe to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday after a nine-year career in which he rewrote the record books but watched from the sideline while his former backup led the franchise to its first Super Bowl championship.

The Patriots will get Buffalo’s first-round pick in 2003.

New England had been trying to trade Bledsoe since Tom Brady, a former fourth-stringer who inherited the starting job when Bledsoe was injured, led the team to an improbable 20-17 victory over the St. Louis Rams in the Super Bowl on Feb. 3.

“We all knew what the situation was: A football team can have only one starting quarterback,” Patriot Coach Bill Belichick said. “In the end, it can only be one guy.... When you put it all together, this is probably best.”

Bledsoe, a 30-year-old three-time Pro Bowl selection, leaves as the franchise’s top quarterback in completions, attempts and yards for a game, season and career. But he also showed his worth by keeping quiet last season even though he was irritated that he wasn’t given a chance to fight for his job after recovering from a life-threatening injury.

Buffalo spent the last month pursuing Bledsoe, but few other teams expressed interest. For the Bills, Bledsoe significantly raises expectations after a 3-13 season--their worst since 1985--and solidifies a position that had been unsettled since hall of famer Jim Kelly retired after the 1996 season.

“If we’re flabbergasted, we’re flabbergasted that there weren’t more teams that got involved in it,” Bill General Manager Tom Donahoe said. “Everybody talks about the need for quarterbacks.... All we know is, we’re happy to know that we were in that position and had a chance to do this.”

The Bills’ previous two starters--Doug Flutie and Rob Johnson--spent three seasons in a bitter feud over who deserved the No. 1 job, eventually proving neither could hold it.