Fencer

There's a school of thought arguing that the Pats need to give the impression of doubt about Brady's recovery in order to get away w/ franchising Cassell. I'm skeptical of that.

However -- the more doubt they have about his recovery, the more value Cassell has to the Pats as a player. And hence the more they are justified in asking for him in a trade.

So it's to the Pats' advantage to create the impression they have doubts about the timing of Brady's return.

What's more, this isn't just an issue vis-a-vis other teams' management. It's also an issue vis-a-vis those teams' fan bases. "What??? You gave up a 1st and a 2nd for this guy, and he had a bad game??" is easier to fight off if there's a theory as to why the Pats wouldn't have settled for less.

JoeSixPat

Yeah - announcing Brady's 100% healthy and ready to start Week 1 as they simultaneously announce that they are only tagging Cassel so that they can secure draft picks from another team would go over REAL well with this commissioner.

Look - no one knows what the current status of Brady's knee is. It's either good or bad at this juncture, just a few months after the surgery.

But as far as the Patriots leaking information about Brady there were only two choices:

1. Leak information saying that Brady's knee is questionable for next season OR
2. Leak information saying that Brady's knee is questionable for next season.

RayClay

Yes, that would be bad. the "good" news is, they can honestly say they have no idea when he'll be ready next year, because they don't. He had serious procedures and an infection, not just a basic one ligament surgery.

They won't really feel secure until he plays a while on it without problem. Remember Seymour? He was supposed to be ready to start the season last year.

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Sean Pa Patriot

this whole pup issuie baffles me a bit, I mean Say we have both cassel and brady, and brady starts on pup.. Ok now Cassel is starting for 6-8 weeks, and doing well enough to continue , Belichick wont switch to Brady which is scary and no one would thought ever be said.. With that being said he starts in week 1 or he does not play at all in 09.. Im betting he will be behind center week 1

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We going to take it one game at a time

fair catch fryar

Says you. Besides, if so, I could think of worse scenarios compared to this one.

ivanvamp

Well, what's the "go/no go" deadline for Brady? Let's say he will be ready by game 5 (and when I say "ready", I mean just that....he's at full strength...I don't think you put him back out there unless he's fully recovered). Do you start the season with O'Connell for the first four games and hope you go 2-2, then expect a normal, fully-healthy Brady to get you 9-10 wins in the last 12 games? I think that's pretty reasonable.

If Brady won't be ready until game 8....I'm not sure you want to start the season with O'Connell. But there must be a cut-off point at which you're willing to let O'Connell play instead of paying Cassel, not getting compensation, and then having two highly-paid QB on the same roster.

dhamz

If Brady is really not going to be ready, they won't trade Cassel. If he is, they will. That will be the news on Brady.

JoeSixPat

Well maybe not. They could feel that they can find another QB (or see where O'Connnel is) to cover themselves for the first few games if they think Brady won't immediately be ready. If they think he might not be able to play at all next season maybe they consider devoting $30 million in cap money to QBs for real.

I also don't think they feel a need to have to trade Cassel before the draft. They can get by without the extra draft pick this season and the few extra months to see where things are might be helpful... and with the dearth of QBs in the draft and the need in the NFL, you'll always find a few teams ready and willing to make a trade and clear out cap space even into the summer.

fair catch fryar

Just asking, but I would assume that Cassel would hold more value in a potential trade before the season starts than he would say 2-3 weeks into a season. My question is to anyone that would have a better idea, but what would be the difference in value to say a team that is more desperate or willing to swing a deal a few weeks into the season than before?

godef

OK, but how does this translate to perceived value for other teams that are interested in acquiring him?

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