spacecrime

Ask Reiss: Moving parts - The Boston Globe

Quotes for the mailbag:

If Cassel does not sign the tender, he is technically not under contract to the team...

Because a player can not be traded unless he is under contract, if the Patriots were seeking to trade Cassel, they would presumably allow his agents to negotiate on a long-term contract with other teams. Cassel would sign the one-year tender with the Patriots as a technicality, that deal would be ripped up when he’s traded, and he’d join a new team with a long-term extension.

Interesting. If I was Cassel, and the Pats franchised me, I would sign that tender in a millisecond. 14 million bucks, guaranteed. But what if his agent thinks he can get more on the free market and tells Cassel not to sign. What happens then?

I still think the only way the Pats franchise him is if they are concerned aboutr Brady, but I LOVE all the permutations and possibilities. It is almost as much fun as having the Pats in the playoffs.

.....

Okay, it isn't nearly as much fun, but it is still better polls about do we keep Gaffney or go after Caldwell in March

slash83

If the Pats expect Brady back at 100% then it just might be too much of a risk to franchise Cassel and then he ends up signing the tender. That 14million could be used in alot of ways including extending our own players. If the Pats are truely worried bout Brady then its money well spend on Cassel.

If he does sign the tender hopefully they could trade him asap and free up the money to sign FA's and extend a couple of Pats players.

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Madden ID for ps3- bradydabest

Tucker

okay, is this hypothetical scenario plausible?

can the Pats extend the franchise tag to him, tell him not to sign it and then have his agent seek a trade; sign a high priced FA which would put us over the cap limit once the Pats and Cassell find a suitable trading partner for a day or so it takes for the trade to go through?

Or would it not work at all because we'd be over cap for a short period of time?

BelichickFan

What's the unknown part of this ? This is Franchise Tag 101.

What happens if Cassel doesn't sign and looks for a long term deal ? He looks for the deal. If he gets it, he either gets an official offer and signs it then the Patriots can not match and would get two #1 picks. Or the new team can negotiate a trade for a lesser amount.

Nothing new here.

pats1

That's really not unknown.

JDSal45

What is unknown? This is how it was gonna work all along. Cassel's contact is UP. Even if they tag him, if he doesn't sign it HE IS A FREE AGENT. Now for some team to sign him, they'd have to give up two 1st rounders as compensation if the Pats don't match. What happens instead is Cassel's agent negotiates just as he would have if Cassel hadn't been franchised. When they have a preliminary agreement with some team, that team calls the Pats, says....okay....we're interested in Matt and reached a preliminary deal with him. But we're not gonna do it unless its for less than two first rounders....Pats say okay....we'd take X (whatever X is).

Its in everyone's best interest. Its really the same thing that happened with Tebuckey. There is no mystery, everyone knows what's going down. The Pats give Matt the blessing and say "go make your best deal...." Which is what he'll do with his agent. No way does he sign the $14 million franchise tag because he can get more guaranteed from another team.....a team that can build around him, where he WANTS to go and where he is a definite long-term starter. He is not gonna sign it. What for? So he gets $14 million guaranteed? Big deal Aaron Rodgers got $20 million in guaranteed money and Cassel will get in that range too somewhere else. Plus he'll be set to settle down somewhere AS THE STARTER with his wife where he wants to be in an organization he picked.

Option one....sign the tag, get $14 million but be in limbo for a year and possibly a backup (which you don't want)

Option two......don't sign it, get MORE Than $14 million guaranteed (like Rodgers did) and pick where you want to start your life with your wife AS A STARTER and no limbo.

Its a no-brainer. Any agent who took option one should be fired. And all sides will be happy....Cassel with the new deal of his choosing, the team HE chooses and the Pats, who'll get compensation.

J D Sal

fair catch fryar

Wasn't a similar scenario talked about when Samuel was franchised?

maverick4

Hold on, I thought if you franchised a player and he didn't sign, he would basically sit the year under your team's control?

Patsfanin Philly

The only other perspective is if he wants absolute safety...He has earned about $2 million total in the league and once he signs the tag, he is guaranteed $14 million......with the risk of the Pats revoking it should he get hurt before signing it....
I agree with you though regarding the likely outcomes....

pats1

Right. See Samuel, Asante - until he signed his tender just before the season.