INDIANAPOLIS -- Tagged today and traded tomorrow?

In the case of Buffalo Bills wide receiver Peerless Price, tagged with the movement-restrictive "franchise" designation, it definitely could happen.

Team president and general manager Tom Donahoe insisted Thursday that the Bills still hope to sign Price, who enjoyed a breakout year in 2002, to a long-term contract. But no one had to read too hard between the lines of rhetoric that Donahoe laid out to surmise that Buffalo will explore all their options, including trade offers, in dealing with the four-year veteran.

"Just because he has the (franchise) tag now," said Donahoe tantalizingly, "doesn't mean he'll have the tag forever."

Translation: If the Bills discern they can't strike a long-term deal with Price and agent Tim McGee, who apparently are miffed about the "franchise" tag, there are other options available to the team.

The least palatable, it would appear, is to force Price to play for the one-year "franchise" qualifying offer of $5.01 million. That is probably unacceptable to both parties, because the Bills would be levied an exorbitant salary cap value for Price, and the player would not receive a signing bonus. There also is the possibility that Buffalo, if eventually squeezed by the salary cap limit, can simply rescind the "franchise" designation and recoup the $5.01 million.

Or there is the trade route, with the Bills dealing Price to another team, and filling their first-round vacancy in the 2003 draft. The Bills' top choice in the '03 draft, of course, belongs to New England because of the trade that sent quarterback Drew Bledsoe to the Bills last spring.

Sources said that, absent an agreement with Price, the Bills would consider a deal that netted them a first-round choice and a pick in a later round. Should another team try to simply sign Price to an offer, it would cost that club two first-round draft choices to pry him away from the Bills.

"(Buffalo) would do it for less than (two first-rounders)," said a source.

The trade option should not be underestimated, especially because the Atlanta Falcons are still considering a maneuver to acquire Price, a player in whom they have demonstrated strong interest. Atlanta desperately needs a big-play wide receiver to team with quarterback Michael Vick, and for months, it has been assumed the Falcons would pursue Price.

The wide receiver owns an offseason home in Atlanta, and he might be interested in playing indoors as well as partnering with the league's most exciting performer in Vick. Team officials were said to be disappointed Wednesday when the Bills used the "franchise' designation on Price. But even after receiving word of the Buffalo gambit, sources said, Atlanta officials still were not prepared to completely dismiss the possibility of acquiring him.

"He's the guy we need," said one Atlanta source. "Or at least a player who is just like him in terms of stretching the field and forcing teams to back away from the line of scrimmage."

By signing middle linebacker Keith Brooking to a six-year deal Thursday night, the Falcons retained enough salary cap space to perhaps afford Price. It is no secret team officials have promised Vick an improved arsenal in '03. There would be some irony in Atlanta chasing Price in trade talks, because they passed on him in the second round of the 1999 draft, instead selecting tight end Reggie Kelly, primarily a backup.

Buffalo is in relatively sound salary cap condition and does not have to make a decision on Price quickly. Donahoe has cleverly and carefully directed his team out of the cap catastrophe he inherited two years ago. He noted the club has no "dead money," charges for players no longer with the team, in 2004.

"I told Mr. Wilson that," said Donahoe, referring the owner Ralph Wilson, "and he said, 'Yeah, but I might be dead in 2004.' He's always got a sense of humor about this stuff."

Should any negotiations with Price and McGee linger interminably, though, it will be no laughing matter. Buffalo would prefer to retain Price, 26, but at its numbers, and not his. The team two years ago, though, signed wide receiver Eric Moulds to a $40 million contract that included a $12.5 million signing bonus and is reluctant to commit too much cap room to one position.

Before he was slapped with the "franchise" marker, Price reportedly turned down a proposal of $3 million annually, with a $4.5 million signing bonus.

The former University of Tennessee star, a second-round choice in 1999, had 94 catches for 1,252 yards and nine touchdowns. He and Moulds formed the NFL's most prolific wide receiver tandem last year. Over the first three years of his career, Price averaged 46 catches, 683.3 yards and 4.3 scores.

"We wanted to have discussions," Donahoe emphasized. "And we hoped that the discussions would be two-way and not one-way. We would like to keep Peerless, but he will have to fit in with the format of what we want to do (financially). The tag is a last resort. It's something you do when you feel you don't have any other options."

Essentially, the Bills weren't about to allow Price to escape and have zero to show in return. If they cannot get him to agree to a long-term contract, rest assured, the Bills will dangle Price in trade talks. They feel that Price is right for some team, themselves or another franchise, and will work hard to find an option that makes sense.

Len Pasquarelli is a senior writer for ESPN.com.