Are the New England Patriots going to slap the franchise tag on our boy Randy Moss. According to AOL sports:

Patriots general manager Scott Pioli said prior to the Super Bowl that win or lose, he and head coach Bill Belichick will turn their attention to the 2008 off-season on the plane ride back to New England. Specifically, what do do about the six soon-to-be unrestricted free agents, none more important than wideout Randy Moss.

The Patriots have three choices: re-sign Moss (but that would probably require making him the NFL’s highest-paid receiver; let him walk; or franchise him.

The Boston Globe’s Mike Reiss thinks the third option would be most appealing to New England.

If the Patriots place the non-exclusive franchise tag on Moss, it would strongly increase the likelihood of his return to New England in 2008. Other teams could still sign Moss to an offer sheet, but would have to forfeit two first-round draft choices if the offer isn’t matched by the Patriots. Because of that steep price, it is unlikely another team would submit an offer sheet to any franchise player.

Not only would a franchise tag virtually insure Moss’ return, but it wouldn’t require New England to make a long-term investment. That may seem like less of an issue following Moss’ 2007 season, but there’s no guarantee he won’t revert to the “I try when I want to” mentality that got him traded from the Vikings and the Raiders.

Moss might not be all that jazzed about being franchised, but there’s not much he’d be able to do about it. He could choose to sit out, but that would affect him more than the Patriots, I think. I mean, they made it to the AFC Championship game in 2006 with Jabar Gaffney and Reche Caldwell as Tom Brady’s primary options.