JoeSixPat
Pro Bowl Player
- Joined
- Nov 8, 2004
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I have no idea why he wouldn't.
He'd get more than $14M guaranteed when combining the signing bonus, first year salary and the next couple of years' salaries in which he's virtually uncutable due to signing bonus acceleration. He wouldn't get $14M per year but he'd get a lot more than $14M guaranteed.
OK - so I think everyone agrees that the franchise tag salary once offered, is immediately signed, and the Patriots have no opportunity to withdraw it - if indeed Cassel is smart and logical and doesn't want to give the Patriots multiple weeks or months to assess Brady's health before he decides whether he wants a minimum of $14 million to play football.
I'm a little foggy on what happens once he gets traded. I'm assuming that the provision preventing players from re-doing a contract doesn't apply to a franchise tag player once they get signed... and that Cassel would re-do a deal worth in excess of $14 million guranteed - with the potential to earn much more in incentives.
That might be a better deal than taking a chance with a rookie, but it's still not something a NFL team would enter into lightly - and its not like 31 NFL teams will be fighting over him.
The bottom line - before the Pats can even entertain the notion of trading Cassel for ANYTHING they need to be zen with the very real possibility that he stays here for $14 million.
The only way I see that happening is if Brady's knee is indeed in questionable shape - in which case, you tag Cassel, see what another year brings and given the fact that you're already in your worst case scenario with Brady's long term health in question, you're preparing yourself to make a very tough decisionin the 2009 offseason about what to again do about Cassel.