New England has done it again. Drafted in the seventh round of the 2005 NFL draft, Matt Cassel was considered a throw away pick. He never started a game at the college level. Bill Belichek and company found out different though early in 2008 when Tom Brady went down and made many fantasy owners cry (literally, cry).
When Matt Cassel finally found a rhythm though, we could finally dry up some of those tears. 3,693 yards and 21 touchdowns later, owners in keeper leagues are stick in the situation of figuring out what to do with 2008′s from rags to riches story.
Swooping in to complicate the situation was the Patriot front office, who decided to slap the almighty Franchise tag on the “backup” quarterback. There are many rumors out there swirling that this will lock up Mr. Cassel to holding on special teams. Don’t worry, Fantasy CPR is here to save the day will all of your Matt Cassel needs!
1). With the franchise tag placed on Cassel, can the Patriots still trade him?-
If the Patriots feel that the best option for 2009 is to trade Cassel, they have the right to do so, if he signs the tender. What does that mean? Basically, the Patriots offer him a 14 million dollar contract, and if he doesn’t sign it he doesn’t have to report to mini camps and other off-season events, because he isn’t officially on the team roster.
With that being said, he cannot be traded either unless under contract. So chances are, that he will sign that pro rated contract, and officially be under contract for one year. But there are a couple things to remember:
1). The deadline for the tag isn’t until Febuary 5th. This could simply be a way for New England to gauge the trade market for Cassel.
2.) If the Patriots fins a suitor, and Cassel agrees with that suitor, then negotiations can begin. What would happen is the one year deal would be “ripped up” once Cassel agrees to the long term contract with another team and that team agrees on principles with New England, then a deal will take place.
3.) Teams can still make offers- If Cassel “holds out” and doesn’t sign the 1 year, 14 million dollar tender right away, other teams can offer higher deals. If for some ungodly reason, some organization does that, then New England would have to match that offer. If they don’t, and Cassel agrees to that deal, then he can sign with that club for a price of two first round picks. I doubt that this will happen, becuase teams can freely discuss a trade. There have already been some interesting speculation out there that the Chiefs would be willing to deal the disgruntled Larry Johnson for Cassel or the Lions might be willing to deal Ernie Sims
It is still a bit early to be talking about this, but it is something that we are all already worrying about. With all of this being said, who is to even say that Cassel would have value as a starter with a different team?
Many out there believe that Cassel is a product of a system. Though it seems a bit far fetched, considering he is in an nfl scheme, there is some merit. Randy Moss, Wes Welker, Jabar Gaffney, LaMont Jordan and Lawrence Maroney are all a very good supporting cast. I won’t buy into it that he isn’t an NFL quality quarterback just yet.
At this point though, I wouldn’t label Cassel as a number one starter in 2009. Would I draft him as a backup. Absolutely. At this rate, it is hard to tell what will happen in the off-season. Here is a list of teams though, that could use his services:
1.) Kansas City Chiefs
2.) Detroit Lions
3.) Buffalo Bills
4.) New York Jets (If number 4 retires)
5.) Chicago Bears
6.) San Francisco
7.) St. Louis
Those are just a few teams I could see using his services. It will be fun to see how it unfolds.
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FanSided
Zach Thompson
