The New England Patriots have turned down Buffalo's latest offer for quarterback Drew Bledsoe, ESPN's Andrea Kremer reported on Friday.

Sources told Kremer that the Patriots turned down the Bills' latest offer after receiving a faxed proposal on Friday. Buffalo offered a No. 2 pick in 2003, with a clause that would have made it a No. 1 pick in 2003 if Bledsoe started 12 games and the Bills qualified for the playoffs. The Patriots were not interested because the deal dealt with draft picks for next season, rather than this season.

Bills general manager Tom 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.

Sources close to the discussions told ESPN.com's Len Pasquarelli on Thursday that a deal may be completed soon. The Bills "really believe they're going to get (Bledsoe) now," one league source told Pasquarelli. But the Patriots' insistence on a first-round pick from this weekend's draft may prove to be too much of a roadblock.

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