Eight hours into the 2008 free agency period, the Patriots have yet to re-sign receiver Randy Moss.

When the Pats didn’t use the franchise tag on Moss by the February 21 deadline, many presumed that Moss and the Pats had a verbal deal in place, and that he would sign it once the 2008 league year commenced.  (Due to a quirk in the CBA, it appeared that Moss couldn’t sign a new deal with the Patriots before February 29; we’ve heard rumblings that the Patriots might have believed otherwise.)  Others concluded that the Pats knew that applying the franchise tag to Moss wouldn’t be the best way to keep him happy over the long haul.

Agent Tim DiPiero declined to comment on the situation when reached by the Boston Globe after midnight.  (I tried to get in touch with DiPiero before Thursday’s NFL Network appearance so that I might have actually had something useful to say on the air, but DiPiero wasn’t available and didn’t return the call.)

Folks, it’s reasonable to conclude that something is up on this one.  At a minimum, we think Randy wants to see what will be on the table elsewhere before re-signing with the Pats.  And if that number in another town is big enough, he might opt to take the money and run.