Matt Cassell Situation

The Pats could seriously be screwing themselves by tagging Matt Cassell but Cassell's long term prospects could be seriously damaged by the move.

I know the intention is to trade him as the belief is that Brady will be ready to go by opening day. But are there really any serious trade possibilities out there?

There are only a handful of teams that are in the market for a QB this offseason, two of them, the Lions and Chiefs, will most likely be spending their top picks on QBs as they pick first and third respectively and will most likely grab Stafford and Sanchez.

All three of the Pats divisional rivals may be in the market for a QB, depending on whether or not Favre retires and how the Dolphins feel about Chad Henne, but does anybody think for a million years the Pats would trade him in the division? Or would the Bills, Jets or Dolphins be willing to give the Pats a first-round pick for that matter?

The rest of the league has incumbents or young QBs already being groomed.

In the AFC North, all four teams are set at QB with Palmer, Rothliesberger, Quinn and Flacco all in place.

In the AFC South, three of the four teams are set with Manning, Garrard and Young still viewed as the heir apparent with Collins most likely being the opening day starter. The Texans would seem like a possibility for Cassell but would they really being willing to give up the top pick after their experience with signing another hot backup recently in Matt Shaub?

In the AFC West, Denver has Cutler, San Diego has Rivers, Oakland loves Russell for some reason and the Chiefs will get either Stafford or Sanchez and have Tyler Thigpen to keep the seat warm for a year.

The same is true in the NFC.

In the NFC East, all four teams are set for now with Manning, Romo, McNabb and Washington loving Jason Campbell.

In the NFC North, the Vikings are love with Jackson, the Packers are willing to live or die with Rodgers, the Bears like Orton and are holding out hope they can snag McNabb as a FA in 2010 and the Lions have the number on overall pick.

In the NFC South, the Falcons are set with Ryan, the Panthers are set with Delhomme, the Saints are set with Brees and with Chucky gone in Tampa, expect Garcia to happily stay, although at 39 he will need to be replaced soon so Tampa may be the most likely landing spot in a trade for Cassell.

In the NFC West, the Seahawks have Hasselbeck, the Rams have Bulger, the Cards have Warner and his preseumed replacement in Leinart and the 49ers seem to be setting themselves up to make a run at Vick upon his return.

So if the Bucs aren't willing to spend a top pick on Cassell, who the hell would be? If the Pats can't trade him he will become the most expensive backup in history, counting some $15 million against the cap. They also leave themselves in a potential QB controversy if Brady has a Peyton Manning '08-like start to the '09 season.

But what about Cassell's longterm prospects? If he is tagged and doesn't get traded and Brady plays well, what is his value on the open market in 2010 after sitting on the bench for a year and a potentially great QB class in that year's draft with Sam Bradford, Colt McCoy, Tim Tebow and whoever else emerges over the course of the 2009 NCAA season?

While the Pats may be screwing themselves by tagging Cassell, they could be screwing Cassell even more.

Ollie Octagon wrote:Moss is a shell of his former self but still a big threat. You aren't going to tell me that Fitz and Boldin are the only reason the Warner has been playing so well are you?

Welker is a great player to have but he is only a little better than guys like Cherbet, Troy Brown, Dennis Northcut, Ricky Proehl. If you remember, the quaterbacks throwing to those four didn't have the kind of season that Cassell had in 2008, aside from Proehl.

Cassell is a good player and will garner a big time trade, unfortunate for you being that the Pats will use the pick to destroy the Jets and everyone else in the AFC East.