borg

"Lending further credence to the idea that the trade was done in part with an eye toward clearing cap space is the fact that the Lions offered the first pick of the second round (No. 33 overall) straight up for Cassel, according to an NFL source"

Sanders has room to grow - The Boston Globe

JSn

I think we've only seen Pt. 1 of this deal, frankly.

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mayoclinic

There's no effective difference between #33 and #34, and it seems like the whole deal with KC was part of a bigger plan. I think that BB wanted to dump Vrabel before his March 1 roster bonus was due, and trading him saved BB the embarrasment of potentially cutting one of the greatest Pats of all time.

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"OVER Loading at ANY position can create a Fatal Advantage. THAT is what interests ME. Attacking With Concentrated Force. THAT is what WINS. In the words ~ more or less ~ of General Patton: 'I'm fighting a WAR, here. Let the B*****ES worry about their FLANKS.' " - Off the Grid

"The key to any successful organization is to anticipate things, not react to them." - Michael Lombardi

fair catch fryar

Precisely, but most won't believe that it was that simple. Add to the fact that BB likes Cassel and was looking out for his best interest by sending him to a now up and coming KC instead of the NFL hinterlands of Detroit over one spot in the draft. If it was Detroit's second 1st at #20 I would be upset, but it wasn't. End of story.

crowell33

The globe article seems to imply that we were willing to take a lower pick if a team was also willing to take Vrabel in the trade. Wouldn't cutting Vrabel have created the same cap room as trading him?

crowell33

Maybe trading Vrabel instead of cutting him keeps him from potentially joining the Rat in Cleveland.

BradyManny

At least I think more highly of Detroit now that I know they made an attempt to get Cassel.

I agree w Mayoclinic regarding the deal and Vrabel. Of course, if Sintim, Barwin, A. Smith, etc. goes #33, I may feel differently

tanked_as_usual

not to mention the fact that if cassel has a say, he'd probably prefer the chiefs to the lions

Remix 6

im guessing we wanted to send Cassel to a certain place that would make him happy as well as satisfy us. respecting the player

borg

The four teams that BB was dealing with are all operating under new regimes...Detroit, Denver, Tampa, and KC. Call it rookie jitters, extra patience watching free agency unfold, fear of paying too much, or New Englands track record in the trade market....more likely , all of the above. The undeniable fact is that New England had cap issues and needed to move fast. The Globe article does a nice job pointing out the cap pressure the Pats were under and the Vrabel dilemma. $9 mill for Sanders, $8 mill for Taylor, $12.2 mill for Baker.....adding up to about $11 mill on the 2009 books. Not to mention, according to Reiss, that Moss redid his contract to help out the team.