RayClay

What an idiot. Franchise tag for a guy that's barely in the league. Matt's done great in a very limited system. He hasn't completed one long pass.

Hey let's give him 10.7 million dollars.

What kills me, is this is undoubtedly cool with some of the same people that wanted to cut him weeks ago.

They could actually sign him to a reasonable contract, then keep him or trade him.

Thank gawd people that want to lurch from cutting to rewarding a guy who had a couple good games with a 10.7 million contract aren't running the team.

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BelichickFan

SF game says hi. If Gaffney catches a perfect pass against Indy then Cassel's deep ball % is about normal, most QB don't complete many. That said, his deep ball is VERY inconsistent with more throws way off than the average. But you are understating him too.

RayClay

I love him. For a guy that looked like he should be cut in training camp, he's come through like a champ.

The next Tom Brady? We HAVE to pay him whatever he wants? C'mon folks, take a thorazine or something.

He's done well because he's stuck with the system he's learned.

Is there some reason his agent doesn't sit down and get a nice backup contract for around a tenth what the extremely generous junior GMs want to give him?

Even a team as stupid as Detroit should realize his familiarity with our system is a large part of his success so far. Give him a 2-3 year contract at better money than he would expect and agree to look for a deal. With a reasonable contract, we might make a nice trade.

If somebody thinks we get a first and more, plus the other team needs to land a big contract on him, they're delusional. The guy has played a hand full of games since high school in a controlled short passing offense.

As BB would say, don't fit him for that hall of fame jacket yet.

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RayClay

Sorry, I didn't realize that. I thought the second coming of Tom Brady, blockbuster franchise trade or 14 mil a year people were overstating it. I guess it's me.

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BelichickFan

I think VERY FEW people here want to pay him big money assuming Mr. Brady's rehab looks good. The question is "Franchise and Trade" and would you risk getting stuck with Cassel for $14M for one year (assuming he signs the tender and can't be traded even for a 2011 seventh round pick) for the chance to tag him and trade him for something of value.

Based on what he's done this year, I am of the opinion we could trade him if we tagged him. For two #1s ? No. But given his success and the 50-50 success of draftees who are paid huge money too, I think we could get a #2 or certainly a #3 for a tagged Cassel.

RayClay

Why not try to sign him to a contract appropriate to his actual value as a backup with possible trade value? He's got two brothers in Baseball and seems pretty intelligent. I bet he has a much more realistic idea of his worth than some posters do.

If we don't trade him, and it takes two to trade, we could get stuck paying him about 7-8 times what he's worth in the open market.

I understand this is how Lehman brothers and Bear Stearns were doing business before they collapsed, but i don't see Bob Kraft playing Santa Claus. It's just nonsensical from a business standpoint.

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BelichickFan

He's playing like a quality starter, he'd be stupid be sign as a backup.

Again, it comes with a little risk but Belioli would likely know if someone was interested before tagging him. It's not a big risk, absolute worst case you overpay a backup for one year, it's not 5 years or anything.

Anyway, let's see how the rest of the season plays out. He may suck the rest of the way

RayClay

Please don't demand he be cut later in the season (I'll bet a million dollars someone does, probably someone in this thread). It's not like he hasn't had some bad games between his hall of fame performances this year.

What happens if they can't sign him and Brady's recovery's slow? He hits the market and sees what he's worth. Then they end up signing him anyway, or he goes to some stinky team and is probably never heard from again. Sorry. It doesn't mean I don't like him if I want to deal in reality.

But what will the Patriots do??? Start Gutierrez or O'Connell, or pick up a vet. They'll struggle a few games, Like Cassel, then they'll be the next Tom Brady, because we have a good system and good talent.

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BelichickFan

I expect Cassel to be starting for another team next year, whether he's Franchised and Traded or just leaves as a UFA. But he's a commodity with value and I doubt they let that value just walk for nothing.

Patti37

So the Patriots are going to pay a back up QB over 10 million which will be the cost if they franchise him? The only way they do it is if they know for certain that Brady will be unable to play next year.