Dormant for about the last week, the Drew Bledsoe trade talks between the Buffalo Bills and the New England Patriots heated up significantly the past few days, with the shared aim now to complete a deal before the weekend.

	Bledsoe

But no deal is yet imminent, Bills general manager Tom Donahoe told ESPN.com on Thursday evening, and he emphasized he had not spoken to Patriots officials all day. "If it's heating up, then it's heating up from their end," he said. "But I'm ready to talk."

For the first time, on Thursday, sources close to the discussions displayed some degree of confidence the two teams could bridge their differences in the next 48 hours and finish a trade that the Bills have pursued now for over a month. The Bills "really believe they're going to get (Bledsoe) now" one league source told ESPN.com.

There was a chance Patriots owner Bob Kraft could become actively involved in the negotiations and the potential of that seems to reflect newfound momentum in the talks.

Donahoe has insisted he will not part with the Bills' first-round choice in the 2002 draft, the fourth selection overall, and is not likely to acquiesce on that. His rationale has been that the Bills have had the best offer on the table, believed to be a third-rounder, and that the Patriots have no other serious bidders.

It is believed New England was seeking at least one first-round choice in return for Bledsoe, who missed the final 14 games of the '01 regular season after a chest injury caused significant blood loss, but none of the suitors has offered a No. 1 selection.

"Why should I?" Donahoe said Thursday about sacrificing his first-round choice in a trade. "No one else has one on the table."

Faced with the prospect that Bledsoe will not report to training camp, New England may now be prepared to reduce its demands. Bledsoe accompanied the Patriots on their visit to the White House earlier this month but has not participated in the offseason conditioning program to this point.

The nine-year veteran has told confidants he will not be as accommodating now as he was during the Patriots' run to the Super Bowl XXXVI title in 2001, when he served as the backup to second-year pro Tom Brady most of the season.

It does not appear the Cincinnati Bengals, who at one point were seeking Bledsoe in a trade earlier this spring, are still chasing the quarterback. Owner Mike Brown has said several times he will not part with the 10th overall choice in the draft for such a trade.

With about $6.98 million in available salary cap space, the Bills could absorb Bledsoe's current contract, and not have to restructure it. Bledsoe, 30, is scheduled for base salaries of $5 million in 2002, $5.5 million in 2003 and $6 million in 2004. On Nov. 1, 2004, any team that assumes his contract will have to decide whether to make a $7 million option payment to trigger the 2005-2010 portion of the contract.

In essence, any team that acquires Bledsoe would get him for nearly three full seasons, at $16.5 in base salary, before determining whether to keep him beyond 2004.

Whether it is Bledsoe or not, the Bills seem intent on resolving the quarterback situation this weekend or even earlier. Buffalo remains interested in free agent Jeff Blake and he appears to be the fallback guy if a trade for Bledsoe is not consummated.

Len Pasquarelli is a senior writer for ESPN.com.