Aside from all the other questions -- pending suspension, he's a bad dude, etc. -- there is the salary cap question.
Signing the guy while he's pursuing a grievance that could cost the Patriots $9 million plus in salary cap money seems crazy, given how it played out last time.
Signing him in a way that results in a settlement of the grievance and gets them something for the cap hit they are taking, or somehow helps them cap wise, starts to make a bit more business sense.
(Again, though, I'm ignoring all the other issues just to make this particular point.)
Signing the guy while he's pursuing a grievance that could cost the Patriots $9 million plus in salary cap money seems crazy, given how it played out last time.
Signing him in a way that results in a settlement of the grievance and gets them something for the cap hit they are taking, or somehow helps them cap wise, starts to make a bit more business sense.
(Again, though, I'm ignoring all the other issues just to make this particular point.)