Both sides seemed to have alterior motives!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14804552/
Patriots file tampering charge against Jets
Point of contention involves terms of conversation between Branch, N.Y.
The Associated Press

The Patriots contend that they gave Branch permission to discuss only terms of a contract and not what a team would offer the Patriots in trade, according to the Boston Globe and Boston Herald. The papers said New England contends the Jets told Branch what they would offer.

The NFL Players Association then filed two grievances against the Patriots.

One said that in allowing Branch to work out a contract with another team, the Patriots agreed they would trade him if he was comfortable with that contract and if the draft choice compensation for him “was commensurate with what has been the value of similar players,” according to union general counsel Richard Berthelsen.

The other said the Patriots didn’t bargain in good faith with Branch over an extension of his contract. He was scheduled to make $1.045 million this season, the last of the five-year contract he signed as a rookie.

The tampering charge against the Jets comes less than a week before New England visits them in Sunday’s second game of the season. The head coach of the Jets, Eric Mangini, was the Patriots defensive coordinator last year.