stevedogc

I agree with the assessment that it benefits all parties to get this done as quick as posible. One point that has not been brought up yet is that trading for Cassel early in the trading period may make that team look more attractive to other free agents. Suppose the Vikings are interested in sign Houshmanzdah as the #1 receiver, it may help the process out by having Cassel already on board. I think this may result teams getting involved right away may result n these teams putting time limits on the offer. Offer good til the end of the week for examle.

Jimke

Teams that get greedy sometimes see the market dry up very quickly

and get little or nothing for the player.

mayoclinic

Excellent point, which I hadn't really considered.

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mgcolby

By February 27th the Pats will have had 3 weeks for teams to submit their best offers and a full week after the combine - for any teams that maybe thinking that Cassel's price is too steep and want to check out Stafford and Sanchez up close and personal.

They will have their best offer on the table by the 26th and at 12:01 am February 27th Matt Cassel will be the property of a team not named the Patriots.

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Rob0729

Well, the combine is where a lot of free agent deals get done (Collusion?!? Did someone mention collusion?). I bet the Pats will be shopping Cassel there too.

I hope that Cassel is traded on the first day of free agency, but I won't hold my breathe. Sometimes these things take a while. I think everyone involved wants this done as fast as possible though.

mgcolby

IMO, the Pats want it done as soon as possible and are/will be using this three week period to work out a trade, and give time for Cassel and his agent to work out a deal with the new team.

Its in their best interest to have this situation done within minutes of the FA period, unless they don't plan on being a major player in FA or are already out of the running for the "big prize" FA they may have targetted.

It just makes to much sense for all parties involved:

1. The Pats get the compensation they want and free up the cap space within minutes of FA beggining.

2. The new team gets Cassel in time for the offseason and makes a big splash with their fans on the first day of FA.

3. Cassel for the first time in his collegiate or professional career goes into an offseason as the undisputed starter. That has to be a great feeling for him. Oh, and he gets the long term deal he wanted.

Its a win-win-win

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upstater1

Beyond clearing up heir own cap issues, the Patriots may also feel that the price for Cassel might be greater in the beginning of free agency for two reasons:

1. A team might be willing to pay more for Cassel in draft picks if they come to a reasonable agreement with him in terms of salary. This should be determined immediately by Cassel's agents. If the team sees the salary is right for them, they might be willing to ante up for the Patriots because they'd get a QB early enough in the year to have him settle into the position.

2. There are a lot of teams who need QBs, but many GMs will not want to take on the risk of trading for Cassel. I think the market for him will be limited, though that doesn't mean the limited amount of players won't meet the Patriots demands. It does mean, however, that the Patriots might not be inclined to wait, if they too believe only a few GMs are willing to take the chance.

Rob0729

The Pats may want to get the deal done quickly. I don't disagree that they want to get the deal done quickly. The problem is that there are a lot of moving parts to getting Cassel traded and sometimes the wheels move slower than we would want it to do. The Pats will need to get a trade deal in place and Cassel would need a long term contract done before a trade could happen. Even with three weeks, that might not be enough time.

tombonneau

Dunno, think you might be unnecessarily pessimistic in your time frame. Remember, there are player for picks trades that are done on draft day within minutes (e.g. Moss to Pats. ) Now granted, some if not most of these deals there is already framework in place, but the deal still goes down quickly.

If there is a team hot to trot for Cassel, there is no reason that the deal can't go down in a matter of days. The delay could come if there are two or more serious suitors and the Pats want to squeeze after last ounce of value out of the deal (not to mention Cassel and his agent ...).

Box_O_Rocks

Assuming Stafford and Sanchez don't decide to wait and throw to their own receivers at their Pro-Days...

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