JUPITER, Fla. -- Former Patriots fullback Heath Evans, who signed last week with the New Orleans Saints, took the microphone before Thursday’s Red Sox game and told the crowd that he wished he had come back to New England.

Evans introduced himself as the, "I hate to say it, but former fullback for the New England Patriots."

He badly wanted to stay in New England, but "Me and Bill Belichick couldn’t get together on the business side," Evans said.

Evans was there to raise money for his charity group, the Heath Evans Foundation, which raises money to help children who are victims of sexual abuse.

"The NFL is a great way to make a living, but it’s an even better way to give back to a community that I grew up in," the Palm Beach native said.

He made his pitch Thursday because he knew there would be plenty of Boston-area fans in the stands to cheer on the Red Sox