New England trades Matt Cassel to the Chiefs

SkinsJock · Post by **SkinsJock** » Sat Feb 28, 2009 2:39 pm

According to Sirius Radio - The Patriots have traded Matt Cassell to the Chiefs - must have a lot of faith in the Brady rehab :wink:

PulpExposure · Post by **PulpExposure** » Sat Feb 28, 2009 4:05 pm

Cassel & Vrabel for a 2nd round pick.

Yes, ONE 2nd round pick.

Seriously.

The Patriots FO basically gave those two away.

The compensation is surprising, because two years ago, the Atlanta Falcons got two second-round picks from Houston for a far less experienced quarterback, Matt Schaub.

My take: Bill Belichick either didn't get a better offer, or he did one of his best friends, Pioli, a favor with a player Belichick wanted to put in a good situation; Belichick is very fond of Cassel. It would not be surprising to see Belichick make the deal with Pioli because both were trained under Bill Parcells, and Parcells always made sure he watched out for his lieutenants and helped them whenever it didn't hurt him.

KazooSkinsFan · Post by **KazooSkinsFan** » Sat Feb 28, 2009 4:15 pm

OK, I didn't think they'd be paying two #1's, but one #2? Wow.

NJ-SKINS-FAN · Post by **NJ-SKINS-FAN** » Sat Feb 28, 2009 6:35 pm

we give a 2nd rounder for jt55 and kc get cassel and vrabel......man we got raped

Countertrey · Post by **Countertrey** » Sun Mar 01, 2009 10:09 am

NJ-SKINS-FAN wrote:we give a 2nd rounder for jt55 and kc get cassel and vrabel......man we got raped

More like the Patriots did. They pinned themselved in when the tagged Cassell, limiting the number of teams that would take the risk... don't forget, he comes with a Franchise Tag tender contract. He did have a remarkable year... but, on the other hand, he was also surrounded by one really good team... and had a coach who had done this "starter gets injured, gotta put in the unheard of backup to make the playoff run" thing before.

This was clearly an inside deal among friends... I think the postulation in PE's post is probably the best explanation. This was Belichick taking care of some people he likes... no one else would have gotten this offer.

I thought they's wait a while to make a move on Cassell, though... figuring they'd want a better picture of Brady's recovery.

KazooSkinsFan · Post by **KazooSkinsFan** » Sun Mar 01, 2009 12:34 pm

Countertrey wrote:
NJ-SKINS-FAN wrote:we give a 2nd rounder for jt55 and kc get cassel and vrabel......man we got raped

More like the Patriots did. They pinned themselved in when the tagged Cassell, limiting the number of teams that would take the risk... don't forget, he comes with a Franchise Tag tender contract. He did have a remarkable year... but, on the other hand, he was also surrounded by one really good team... and had a coach who had done this "starter gets injured, gotta put in the unheard of backup to make the playoff run" thing before.

This was clearly an inside deal among friends... I think the postulation in PE's post is probably the best explanation. This was Belichick taking care of some people he likes... no one else would have gotten this offer.

I thought they's wait a while to make a move on Cassell, though... figuring they'd want a better picture of Brady's recovery.

Obviously my reaction was the same as yours, but I was listening to some analysis that actually made a lot more sense. I offer for your consideration, can't validate it's accurate. But according to what I heard on ESPN radio (OK, so take with a grain of salt for credibility), few teams could trade straight up for Cassel due to the cap hit and the Pats wanted to cash out the pick. Putting in Vrbeck actually transferred millions more in cap space to KC. So if true, the Pats got a second round pick AND like 20 mil in cap space to pursue free agents. So they weren't just getting a 2nd rounder, they were getting other players they have the cap to sign.

Again I'm not saying I have the personal knowledge to vouch that's all true, just that "if" it is then the trade makes a lot more sense.