For a quarterback who has only played in 30 games in his National Football League career, Kansas City Chiefs QB Matt Cassel is very fortunate. Thanks to his impressive performance (3,693 yards, 21 TDs) in relief of an injured Tom Brady in New England last season, Matt was able to sign a six-year contract worth over $60 million (with $28 million guaranteed) today. And while he’s technically still competing for the starting quarterback spot with Brodie Croyle and Tyler Thigpen, this hefty contract pretty much supersedes anything that might happen in training camp.
Chiefs GM Scott Pioli issued the following canned …read more

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Denver Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler was upset to hear his name being thrown around in trade talks this weekend. And I can’t say I blame him. Before Matt Cassel was traded from New England to Kansas City yesterday, Jay’s name came up in a proposed three-way deal with the Tampa Bay Bucs that would have brought Matt to Denver (and reunited him with his former offensive coordinator from New England and Broncos new head coach Josh McDaniels) and sent Jay to Tampa Bay. It obviously didn’t work out but the trouble had already started as …read more

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New England Patriots quarterback Matt Cassel has been traded to the Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs also got linebacker Mike Vrabel from New England in exchange for their second-round pick (34th overall) in the 2009 NFL Draft. The agreement is good only if both players pass their physicals, but I don’t think that will be an issue. Chiefs new GM Scott Pioli (formerly of the Patriots, of course) was thrilled to bring old faces into new places:
“I have a long history with both players. Mike and Matt are men that I respect both personally and …read more

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N.Y. Jets fans are not going to be happy with this news. The New England Patriots signed free agent tight end Chris Baker today. The Jets released Chris earlier this month with good reason — they didn’t want to pay him a $9 million option bonus payment that was coming due early next month. Chris is a fine player and has tremendous potential as a tight end in this league, but I wouldn’t want to pay him $9 million, either. He had good numbers in 2007 (41 catches) but tapered off last season with the …read more

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Franchise player designations were announced today for the 2009 National Football League free agency signing period that begins on February 27. A club can designate one “franchise” player or one “transition” player among its veteran free agents. The salary offer by a player’s club determines whether the franchise player designation is exclusive or non-exclusive. An “exclusive” franchise player — not free to sign with another club — is offered a minimum of the average of the top five salaries at the player’s position for the current year as of April 17; or 120 percent of …read more

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The New England Patriots placed a non-exclusive franchise tag on backup quarterback Matt Cassel today. The Pats will keep Matt if they have any doubts that QB Tom Brady won’t be ready for the start of the 2009 season. But if Tom is ready (as he’s expected to be), it’s likely New England will trade Matt rather than pay him the $14.65 million brought by the tag (of course, the Pats aren’t stupid — they could also offer him a long-term deal). In a statement released by the Patriots today, head coach Bill Belichick said:
“Matt …read more

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New England Patriots quarterback Matt Cassel has been a huge surprise this season. After a pretty stinko preseason (56.6 QB rating), Matt has performed not just admirably, but at a near-Pro Bowl level in subbing for injured, all-world, mega-star QB Tom Brady. Fresh off a 47-7 drubbing of NFC West champs Arizona, Matt now has 3,615 passing yards and 21 touchdowns in 15 games. Seriously. Tom will be back from his knee injury next season which means the Patriots will most likely have to deal Matt to one of the many quarterback needy teams in …read more

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Making an unpublicized appearance at a Goodwill Thanksgiving Dinner in Boston this evening, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady says he is “doing well” in his recovery from reconstructive knee surgery. Of course, he couldn’t be doing much worse than he was. Following surgery, Tom had multiple procedures to clear an infection out of his knee and was placed on a six-week regimen of IV antibiotics. With the way Matt Cassel has been playing, Tom better get back sooner than later. OK, I’m just kidding. Sort of.
Source: SportingNews.com

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A lot has been made of Tom Brady’s season-ending knee injury. And rightfully so. He’s arguably the best player in the National Football League and one of the best quarterbacks of all-time, even at just 31-years-old. But what about his backup, Matt Cassel, who has been thrust into the national spotlight to follow in the footsteps of last season’s league MVP? With rumors running rampant that the Pats would scour the free agent market for Tom’s replacement (heck, I suggested Daunte Culpepper), the team did nothing. They were happy with the QBs they had (Matt …read more

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With Tom Brady on the shelf for the rest of the 2008 season, are the New England Patriots considering giving recently retired quarterback Daunte Culpepper a call? Shortly after Tom’s devastating injury yesterday, the Pats contacted free agent QBs Chris Simms and Tim Rattay. According to ESPN’s Chris Mortensen (reporting on Monday Night Countdown), when they showed up for their interviews/workouts today, both players were sent back to the airport because plans had changed. I just got off the phone with Patriots Executive Director of Media Relations Stacey James and all he knew of the …read more