More than 50 New England Patriots players and front-office personnel will attend a ceremony at the White House with President Bush on Tuesday morning, but Bryan Cox won't be one of them.

He's not feeling very patriotic these days.

"I will not go to the White House and I will not take part in any ring ceremony," Cox told the Boston Globe in Sunday's editions. "I wanted to finish my career in New England. I really liked the people up there. The fans were great to me, and many people in the organization were wonderful.

"But the rest of the organization leaves something to be desired. I have to give the coaching staff a lot of credit. To win the Super Bowl with that organization was a great accomplishment."

Cox, an acknowledged leader of the Super Bowl champions last season, signed with the New Orleans Saints as a free agent Thursday after being shunned by the Patriots.

"I talked with them after the year to find out my future, and they said they would get back to me," he told the Globe. "Never did. Never even gave me a phone call. So I had to move on and make sure I had a chance to play someplace this season, and the Saints gave it to me."

Cox said he is not the only one to get the silent treatment from the Patriots.

"Roman Phifer was the MVP of our defense last year, in my opinion, and they haven't called him either," Cox told the newspaper. "He doesn't know what is going on.

"I wanted to play another year or two in New England, but it isn't going to happen. I'll miss the fans and most of the people in the organization."

Cox will be missed. Former New York Jets coach Al Groh said that when Cox played for him, it was like having another coach on the field.

Last season, Cox was the Patriots' starting middle linebacker before going down with a broken leg in Week 7 against Denver. He came back from the injury faster than expected and made some of the most critical plays on defense throughout the season.

While Cox will be a no-show, quarterback Drew Bledsoe confirmed to the Globe that he will be among the players attending the ceremony.

Bledsoe will fly from his home in Montana to Washington, meet the team there, then fly back to Montana. He does not plan to participate in the Patriots' off-season strength and conditioning program, which begins Monday.

The quarterback, who is trying to keep a low profile, is keeping all of his options open, including the possibility of returning to New England or of being traded to Cincinnati or another destination, including Buffalo.

Bledsoe has not spoken to Bill Belichick or Robert Kraft since the season ended. He will see both of them in Washington for the first time since the Super Bowl.

According to a Boston Globe story, Bledsoe has not told the Bengals he will not play for them next season. Rather, his agent, David Dunn, informed them several weeks ago that he was not in a hurry to agree to a trade and would not do so until he had seen what else was available to him.

"Drew wants to keep his options open," a source told the Globe over the weekend. "What he tried to do with Cincinnati was put them on the back burner, without shutting it down completely. Retirement isn't really an option for him right now, but he has no feel for how this is going to end except that if he has to go back to New England he'll make an accommodation with it and go back there and be the best quarterback on the team, whether they start him or not."