How many teams would bid on Cassel

[Urgent]

A relevant question regarding the future of Cassel is how many teams might bid on him, whether as a free agent or through trade?

The second part of that question is, of course, on how many teams would he be an upgrade?

A quick look at the 31 other teams, in descending order of QB rating through 12 games:

Dallas - Romo
San Diego - Rivers
Arizona - Warner
New Orleans - Brees
Miami - Pennington
Tampa Bay - Garcia
New York Giants - Manning
Atlanta - Ryan
Green Bay - Rodgers
Houston - Schaub
New York Jets - Favre
Washington - Campbell
Denver - Cutler
(New England - Cassel)
Indianapolis - Manning
Buffalo - Edwards
Philadelphia - McNabb
Chicago - Orton
Jacksonville - Garrard
Baltimore - Flacco
Tennessee - Collins/Young
Carolina - Delhomme
Pittsburgh - Roethlisberger
Kansas City - Thigpen/Huard
Minnesota - Frerotte/Jackson
San Francisco - O'Sullivan/Smith/Hill
Oakland - Russell
Cincinnati - Fitzpatrick/Palmer
St Louis - Bulger
Cleveland - Anderson/Quinn
Seattle - Hasselbeck
Detroit - Culpepper/Kitna/Orlovsky

Teams in bold = might bid on Cassel.

Excluded:
Oakland - while a clear upgrade, they probably financially cannot quit on Russell yet.
Baltimore - Flacco looks like a good developing QB
Cincinnati - obviously an injury issue to Palmer

Questions:
Philadelphia - too soon to move on?
Buffalo - expensive for a limited upgrade over Edwards
Miami - good season from Pennington, but aging and risky
New York Jets - does Favre retire? would Mangini want ex-Pat Cassel?
Tampa Bay - time to bring in the future?

That yields 12-14 teams that might be interested, based on the numbers and the context.

 

[JSn]

I think he'll end up in Minnesota or Tampa Bay. The Latter would make the UK mighty interesting.

 

[PatriotWarrior]

I think maybe Arizona might consider him. Warner is close to the end of his career. and Pete Carroll did say that Cassel and Leinart were neck in neck when competing for the starting job.

 

[DarrylS]

I think maybe Arizona might consider him. Warner is close to the end of his career. and Pete Carroll did say that Cassel and Leinart were neck in neck when competing for the starting job.

Leinart is under contract for about 6.75 million, qb controversies are not usually a good thing.. Cassell will demand more.

 

[tanked_as_usual]

MN would be the best place on that list

 

[ALP]

houston, wash and philly should be in bold as well...

 

[ctpatsfan77]

Leinart is under contract for about 6.75 million, qb controversies are not usually a good thing.. Cassell will demand more.

With all due respect, nobody knows what Cassel's looking for. Even Adam Schefter's "Rodgers-type deal" claim is, if you read it carefully, nothing more than speculation on his part.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

houston, wash and philly should be in bold as well...

The Redskins might kick the tires, but I think they're satisfied with Campbell.

 

[AStack75]

There has been some speculation that Matt Hasselbeck might be cut at the end of the season. Not sure how accurate that is though.

Dr. Z is best football writer of our time - Peter King - SI.com

"I keep hearing the Seahawks might be thinking of letting Matt Hasselbeck -- with a very manageable $9.95 million, $9.45 million and $6.75 million cap number for the final three years of his contract -- go. If they do, they're nuts."
-Peter King

 

[captadamnj]

Unless he leads the Pats to the Super Bowl, I still think he stays here. The Pats offer him above average QB money with the knowledge that they are set at QB for the next 10 years. He knows that there isn't another team he can go to and be as successful in year one (and probably not year 2 or 3 for that matter) as he has been with the Pats because he knows the system here and is surrounded by talent.

Let's ask the question another way. How many teams would Cassel sign with? Unless his plan is to cash in on one contract and become just another "he had a good year as a backup qb on a talented team", he needs to look for - 1) Stability in the organization (management), 2) A solid OL, and 3) Quality receivers to whom to throw the ball. Which of the above teams that might be interested can offer him that?

 

[ctpatsfan77]

He knows that there isn't another team he can go to and be as successful in year one (and probably not year 2 or 3 for that matter) as he has been with the Pats because he knows the system here and is surrounded by talent.

So, in other words, because he presumably won't have it as good as he's had it here, he'll just willingly accept going back to being Brady's backup? Given what we know about Cassel, why would you think that?

 

[captadamnj]

So, in other words, because he presumably won't have it as good as he's had it here, he'll just willingly accept going back to being Brady's backup? Given what we know about Cassel, why would you think that?

Because he chose to sit behind 2 Heisman winners at USC instead of transferring to showcase his talent to ensure his being drafted as an NFL QB. Let's face it, if the Pats don't take him, he may not even be playing football right now. It's his college decision to sit and not make being a starting QB in the NFL a priority that makes me think that for good money, he'd do it again.

 

[WhiZa]

Because he chose to sit behind 2 Heisman winners at USC instead of transferring to showcase his talent to ensure his being drafted as an NFL QB. Let's face it, if the Pats don't take him, he may not even be playing football right now. It's his college decision to sit and not make being a starting QB in the NFL a priority that makes me think that for good money, he'd do it again.

That's a good thought. He also never had a chance to play to make a decision like he has to after the season. The patriots will offer him good #2 QB money, and I would not be surprised if he takes it based on your point. One thing is for sure is he can't use the excuse he needs to feed his family as they are all professional athletes themselves.

 

[mike_usagisan]

Yeah, but while he sat at USC, he also played baseball. There's no such opportunity for him to do something else while backing up Brady.

And yeah, he might not have it as good anywhere else, that hasn't stopped most backups from taking the chance somewhere else when given that opportunity. Players want to play, not sit on the bench.

 

[LasVegasPatsFan]

Wake up guys. Some team will take him next year, you can bet the farm on that. He has done a solid job so far this year. Dont even bring up "Look at the weapons he has". What has Fitzpatrick done with Houshmensadah and Ocho Cinco? There are other QB's out there that are doing worse with just as much talent around them. Also, did anyone expect Cassel to perform this well considering not starting? Coaches know more than we do and they know hidden talent. He was drafted for a reason. He will improve over the years as he has done since the beginning of this year.

 

[billdog3484]

its been such a crazy season. finally the talk about trading Brady ended this week, but i can see Cassel dominating the next 4 weeks, throwing around 300 yards in each with 2 TDs each and people start getting crazy around here again

 

[LuckyGandolff3x]

Miami has Chad Henne waiting in the wings, he's obviously the QB of the future for them. They will hold onto Pennington until he is ready.

Tampa Bay would be an interesting choice because Gruden is a QB collector, but I still think the serious bidders will be Kansas City, Detroit, and San Francisco. I would be suprised if SF gambled another high pick on a QB, and they have no prob throwing around free agent money, as they did for Nate and Tully.

 

[xmarkd400x]

I think the Titans is the best place for Cassell to go. Winning environment; good team; hungry team. Everything is in place for him to succeed there.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

I think the Titans is the best place for Cassell to go. Winning environment; good team; hungry team. Everything is in place for him to succeed there.

Except WR to throw to.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

Because he chose to sit behind 2 Heisman winners at USC instead of transferring to showcase his talent to ensure his being drafted as an NFL QB. Let's face it, if the Pats don't take him, he may not even be playing football right now. It's his college decision to sit and not make being a starting QB in the NFL a priority that makes me think that for good money, he'd do it again.

He stayed at USC for two main reasons--(1) because he wanted the education he could get there, and (2) because he thought that he might take over if Leinart started to struggle. Neither of those are factors here--he's not taking classes, and the only way that Cassel will ever see the field is the result of injury (and let's not forget that the Pats drafted O'Connell for a reason).

Also, just to correct a point--as various articles have pointed out, if the Patriots hadn't drafted him, he would have either joined his former coach Norm Chow at Tennessee or his former roommate Carson Palmer in Cincinnati.