Visit receives a big thumbs-up from Price

Free agent receiver Peerless Price, who visited the Patriots at Gillette Stadium Wednesday, was en route to Dallas last night, according to his agent, Tim McGee. Asked if the Patriots had begun negotiations with his client, McGee declined comment but said, ''We hope to get something done [with any team] by the weekend."

McGee did say that Price ''loved it" after meeting with Patriots coaches and team officials. McGee wouldn't reveal the other teams in pursuit of the seven-year veteran, who was cut by the Falcons Tuesday.

The 5-foot-11-inch, 190-pound Price was considered a disappointment in Atlanta, which acquired him from Buffalo in 2003 for a first-round choice. He was given a $10 million signing bonus and a contract that reportedly totaled $37 million after having a career year in 2002 with the Bills (94 receptions for 1,252 yards and 9 TDs). But Price never reached such heights with the Falcons, making 64 catches for 838 yards and three TDs in 2003, and 45 grabs for 575 yards and 3 TDs last season.

Price's visit to Dallas opens the door for a reunion with Cowboys quarterback Drew Bledsoe, the starter in Buffalo during Price's best seasons.

Money matters

According to Forbes magazine, the Patriots are valued at $1.04 billion, making them the third-most-valuable franchise in the NFL behind the Redskins ($1.264 billion) and Cowboys ($1.063 billion).

Patriots owner Robert Kraft is on the cover of the September issue of Forbes, posing with a helmet and Super Bowl trophies next to the headline, ''The Best Team in Sports, How Robert Kraft Built the Patriots into a Football Dynasty."

According to Forbes, the Patriots rose 21 percent in value from 2004, well above the league average of 9 percent.

Helping hands

Louisiana natives Jarvis Green and Kevin Faulk thanked fans for their prayers and asked them to contribute to the Hurricane Katrina relief effort in a public service announcement that aired during the game. Green is from Donaldsonville, about 60 miles west of New Orleans. Faulk is from Lafayette. NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue announced that the league would donate $1 million to the American Red Cross to aid victims of Katrina, and the league is working on other ways to assist in the relief effort . . . Receiver Deion Branch sat for the fourth consecutive game, meaning he will see his first live action in the season opener. ''There are a lot of factors involved in the playing time," coach Bill Belichick said. ''We did what we thought was best for the team, and that takes a lot of things into consideration." . . . Many Patriots who didn't play wore their jerseys and watched from the sideline, while others watched from a luxury box . . . Randall Gay, part of a blown coverage that left Jamaar Taylor wide open for a 26-yard touchdown catch in the third quarter, picked off a Jared Lorenzen pass later in the period . . . Linebacker Tully Banta-Cain and safety James Sanders left the game with leg injuries that aren't believed to be serious . . . The Patriots announced the release of wide receiver Eugene Baker, who joined the team on the first day of training camp. Wideout Bethel Johnson was activated from the preseason physically unable to perform list and made two receptions . . . Vinatieri was joined by Matt Chatham and Patrick Pass as team captains for the coin toss . . . The Patriots are raffling off a specialty license plate with the team logo and No. 4 (Adam Vinatieri's number). The ''Four for the Fans" raffle will run the entire season, with the $10 tickets available at Patriots.com and in the Gillette Stadium pro shop. All proceeds benefit the New England Patriots Charitable Foundation. According to the team, Patriots license plates became available in March and quickly became the fastest-selling specialty plates of the Commonwealth with more than 7,000 in circulation . . . Giants quarterback Tim Hasselbeck played at Boston College and Xaverian High, and is the son of former Patriots tight end Don Hasselbeck . . . Ayla Brown, daughter of state senator Scott Brown and Channel 5 news reporter Gail Huff, sang the national anthem . . . After saying for weeks that the final roster cutdown would need to be done by Sunday, the Patriots received word from the NFL that the 53-man roster limit must be reached by 6 p.m. tomorrow.

Mike Reiss of the Globe staff contributed to this report.