ESPN: Cassel has accepted the franchise tender [merged]

[BradyManny]

Correct. Cassel signing the tender takes "free agency" out of the equation. He is now under contract for 2009 and the Pats have to wait until the 2009 league year starts to trade him since the 2008 trading deadline is long since passed.

OK, cool.

Is there anything stopping us from negotiating w/ other teams between now and then?

 

[Deus Irae]

From my understanding of the complex rules, this offers Cassel a little less risk, but is not a major factor in changing the ultimate outcome.

He gives up the opportunity to negotiate directly with any team, come Feb 27, by signing the tender. He is under contract, like any other player. Without signing the tender, Cassel is free to negotiate with any team to seek the highest bidder and best situation.

However, he still has some control, because he can refuse to negotiate a long-term extension with any team he doesn't like, should he, I don't know, sign Archie Manning as his advisor. So, while he loses some flexibility, he still has some ultimate control. But, worst case he now has a guaranteed $14.7mm. You can pee on his leg, but you can't take that guarantee away.

The Patriots now know that, unless they trade him, they owe him the full $14.7mm. However, their ability to trade him is unchanged.

Close, but not quite all the way there. In theory, Cassel and the Patriots could renegotiate a deal that paid Cassel less.

 

[swheeler23]

I'm officially worried about Brady for next year.

Sorry..... just saying.

If Brady doesnt play at the start of the season why would the Patriots take Cassel out midway through the season and start brady? If brady is not healthy enough to start the season and play in pre-season the Patriots will not let him get in game shape during games if they have Cassel.So why keep Brady at all if he is going to miss 2 seasons? They trade Cassel or Bradys career as a Patriot is over......I know call me an idiot but it makes no since to keep cassel at that price if he isnt starting.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

Re: Report: Cassel has accepted the franchise tender (merged)

Whatever else, it's clear that the Pats have great respect for Cassel's ability. This would be too big a gamble to take on if they had any thought that he was a 1 year wonder.

:agree:

Because by signing the tender, he is guaranteed $14.5 million, a $14 million raise over this year.....2800% raise...If he were to suffer some freak accident before signing, the Pats could have revoked the offer. Now he has the financial security AND the opportunity to earn more if (WHEN) he is traded in the form of a new long term contract.

Not necessarily. To be precise, the guarantee is against: (1) comparative lack of skill; (2) injury while performing the duties of his contract; and (3) being waived to create salary cap room.

The Patriots have to move Brady or Cassel. How could they have almost 30 million on 2 players? Brady is due a 3 million dollar signing bonus Feb 27th and 5 million for the year.If they traded Brady they would save 8 million on the cap. They can not trade Brady because he wouldnt pass a physical. So there defensive help will come from the draft or not at all unless Cassel is traded.

No, at the moment they would only save $1M. As Miguel points out, the $3M would be due before the Patriots could trade him, while the $4M in SB money from 2010 would accelerate into 2009 (because 2010 is uncapped). $8M saved - $7M lost = net $1M saved.

 

[mayoclinic]

The deal could be in place - but we would have to wait until Feb 27th to announce it, right?

But I do agree - this just gets the process moving and makes it more likely he is traded sooner than later once the free agency and trading period begins.

Is that true?

If Cassel accepts the franchise tender then isn't he officially under contract to the Patriots and no longer a FA? In which case the Pats wouldn't have to wait until Feb 27 to trade him.

That seems to me to be one of the big implications of this all happening so fast. The Pats should now be free to negotiate trades with any teams immediately, and get something done in time to be ready to make any FA moves they need to once Cassel's situation is resolved.

The second big implication is that teams MUST go thru the Pats. There is not even the option of negotiating with Cassel and considering signing him for 2 1st round picks. Once he signs the franchise tender he is the property of the Pats, and teams must first negotiate with the Pats and get permission to discuss long-term deals with Cassel.

The third big implication is that it removes any consideration that the Pats would chicken out in a game of bluff and remove the tag from Cassel in order to free up cap space for FA. The only way that $14M gets reduced is by trading Cassel or signing him to a long term deal. The only way teams have of acquiring his services is to negotiate a trade with the Pats. That was what most people expected, but it removed any ambiguity.

I think this also says that the Pats and Cassel are VERY comfortable with each other. I can't imagine that the Pats will go into 2009 with $29M on the books in QB cap hits, so they must be very confident that they can either trade Cassel or sign him to a reasonable long term deal. It suggests that they have had conversations with him, and probably with multiple other teams. It also says that Cassel is comfortable that the Pats won't waste his time negotiating deals with teams where he wouldn't be comfortable going. He obviously retains some degree of "veto" power over any trade since he could effectively kill any trade by refusing to negotiate a long term deal.

 

[Metaphors]

Now they can sit back and figure out over the next couple of months if Brady is going to be ready or not. If he is great - they'll either take a tentative deal they already have worked out (with Cassel's blessing) with someone, or if they need Cassel, they'll get him ready to play, perhaps with the idea that they'll trade him early in the season (when is the deadline?) once Brady returns to form.

You may be right, but Cassel's trade value decreases significantly as time progresses...

Feb 27th - Teams start signing free agent QBs (a pathetic lot, but just saying)
April 25th - Teams start drafting QBs
May/June - OTA's and Mini-camps

So by July, teams will have figured out their QB plans for 2009. It is unlikely a team would wait for Cassel that long. At that point, the Pats would be waiting for a major QB injury to get equal value for Cassel. I think this means Cassel is gone before the draft...potentially long before.

 

[swheeler23]

Re: Report: Cassel has accepted the franchise tender (merged)

:agree:



Not necessarily. To be precise, the guarantee is against: (1) comparative lack of skill; (2) injury while performing the duties of his contract; and (3) being waived to create salary cap room.



No, at the moment they would only save $1M. As Miguel points out, the $3M would be due before the Patriots could trade him, while the $4M in SB money from 2010 would accelerate into 2009 (because 2010 is uncapped). $8M saved - $7M lost = net $1M saved.

Thanks. I guess the only way for the Patriots to have more money for free agents is to trade Cassel. Maybe they will just go through the draft. They have to get some secondary help from somewhere.

 

[Metaphors]

OK, cool.

Is there anything stopping us from negotiating w/ other teams between now and then?

I don't know of anything. Just can't pull the trigger officially until the league allows the transaction on the 27th. I suppose they could even announce a deal being reached in principal at any time.

 

[BradyManny]

Is that true?

If Cassel accepts the franchise tender then isn't he officially under contract to the Patriots and no longer a FA? In which case the Pats wouldn't have to wait until Feb 27 to trade him.

As Metaphors said - we have to wait for the league year to begin.

But I think the principle of what you say is correct. We can now negotiate freely with teams and work towards having a trade in place by Feb 27th.

Plus, with Cassel signing the tender, we don't have to worry about Peter King saying we're doing something against NFLPA guidelines or whatever. He's agreed to the Patriots term and is under contract for the 2009 season. We have every right to trade him now just as we do any other player under contract, and the fact that he's been designated a franchise player is irrelevant in that aspect now.

 

[BradyManny]

I don't know of anything. Just can't pull the trigger officially until the league allows the transaction on the 27th. I suppose they could even announce a deal being reached in principal at any time.

Sounds right. I'm always mildly paranoid of gaining the ire of the league, particularly as the Pats are always under a microscope, but I don't see how this could be seen as any kind of tampering or whatnot.

 

[Brettlax3434]

I would guess this means the pats have a deal in place with another team, but theres no way I could back that up.

 

[BradyManny]

Re: Report: Cassel has accepted the franchise tender (merged)

:agree:



Not necessarily. To be precise, the guarantee is against: (1) comparative lack of skill; (2) injury while performing the duties of his contract; and (3) being waived to create salary cap room.



No, at the moment they would only save $1M. As Miguel points out, the $3M would be due before the Patriots could trade him, while the $4M in SB money from 2010 would accelerate into 2009 (because 2010 is uncapped). $8M saved - $7M lost = net $1M saved.

Good points.

 

[mayoclinic]

I don't know of anything. Just can't pull the trigger officially until the league allows the transaction on the 27th. I suppose they could even announce a deal being reached in principal at any time.

I guess I'm still confused. I don't know much about this area.

Are the Pats (or any other team) prohibited from making a trade involving one of their players under contract (such as Maroney, Mankins, Hobbs, etc.) at this time? I don't think so.

Once Cassel signs the franchise tender, isn't he officially under contract to the Pats thru 2009? In which case, why do they have to wait until February 27 to make a deal?

I think this is one way that the Pats can resolve Cassel's situation before the start of FA. Assuming that the Pats and Cassel are communicating and cooperating about how to resolve his status so that he gets his $$ (which he already has) and either ends up on the Pats or traded to a team acceptable to him, it seems like this is the quickest and most efficient way to resolve Cassel's destination in the next few weeks, before February 27. The Pats can either work out a trade and allow Cassel to negotiate a long term deal, or potential resign him to a long term deal themselves which might lower his cap hit and give them some room in FA, but still allow them to trade him later on.

 

[BradyManny]

Mayoclinic - The 2008 trade dealine has passed, we have to wait for the 2009 league year to begin. But it seems its almost a matter of semantics, as nothing is stopping them from negotiating a trade at this point. Just can't become official.

 

[Brettlax3434]

ESPN.com's Chris Mortensen reports Matt Cassel has accepted the Patriots' franchise tender.

Cassel is guaranteed $14.65 million for 2009, but there are several options. The Pats can keep him at that price for one year, work out a sign-and-trade with another team, or sign Cassel to a reasonable multi-year contract as Tom Brady's backup.
Source: ESPN.com

 

[mayoclinic]

Mayoclinic - The 2008 trade dealine has passed, we have to wait for the 2009 league year to begin. But it seems its almost a matter of semantics, as nothing is stopping them from negotiating a trade at this point. Just can't become official.

Thanks for clarifying that. The posts have been flying so fast that I hadn't had a chance to read some of the earlier posts which set me straight.

Last week before the SB Cassel played pretty ignorant about what the Pats planned to do. I wonder if that was all a ploy. I can't imagine that the Pats would go forward with this without being prety confident that they can resolve it to both parties' satisfaction - something that would be difficult to have predicted with Asante Samuel, for example, where there seemed to be much more antagonism between the team and the player. I wouldn't be surprised if Cassel has given the Pats an idea of how much it would take to sign him to a long term deal so that they Pats are confident that they can do so if they are unable to trade him, and if the Pats and Cassel have discussed potential teams of interest and which ones Cassel would consider.

If you assume that the Pats and Cassel are working together to a certain extent, rather than against each other, then this is playing out very nicely.

 

[PatsDeb]

You may be right, but Cassel's trade value decreases significantly as time progresses...

Feb 27th - Teams start signing free agent QBs (a pathetic lot, but just saying)
April 25th - Teams start drafting QBs
May/June - OTA's and Mini-camps

So by July, teams will have figured out their QB plans for 2009. It is unlikely a team would wait for Cassel that long. At that point, the Pats would be waiting for a major QB injury to get equal value for Cassel. I think this means Cassel is gone before the draft...potentially long before.

I see what you're saying in principle, but there are many teams out there with lousy QBs, and just because they line things up as best they can beforehand, doesn't mean they won't make a significant move even past the dates you give. Look what the Jets and Miami did 3 weeks before the season started last year. While the pool is definitely narrowed as time goes by, I think BB is willing to wait to see what the deal is with Brady. Then he'll get the best deal he can for Cassel, which still might be pretty lucrative if other teams have had lousy OTA's and minicamps with what they've already got.

 

[BradyManny]

ESPN.com's Chris Mortensen reports Matt Cassel has accepted the Patriots' franchise tender.

Cassel is guaranteed $14.65 million for 2009, but there are several options. The Pats can keep him at that price for one year, work out a sign-and-trade with another team, or sign Cassel to a reasonable multi-year contract as Tom Brady's backup.
Source: ESPN.com

I saw a video with Mort on ESPN who thinks he'll stay here for the year. I just don't see it. Cassel has at least earned the right to start in this league. While I think his value is a little inflated right now (which works to our advantage), he's also proven he's far better than a lot of the NFL QBs out there.

 

[BradyManny]

Thanks for clarifying that. The posts have been flying so fast that I hadn't had a chance to read some of the earlier posts which set me straight.

Last week before the SB Cassel played pretty ignorant about what the Pats planned to do. I wonder if that was all a ploy. I can't imagine that the Pats would go forward with this without being prety confident that they can resolve it to both parties' satisfaction - something that would be difficult to have predicted with Asante Samuel, for example, where there seemed to be much more antagonism between the team and the player. I wouldn't be surprised if Cassel has given the Pats an idea of how much it would take to sign him to a long term deal so that they Pats are confident that they can do so if they are unable to trade him, and if the Pats and Cassel have discussed potential teams of interest and which ones Cassel would consider.

If you assume that the Pats and Cassel are working together to a certain extent, rather than against each other, then this is playing out very nicely.

I agree 100%. I think Cassel wants to start somewhere, he deserves that, and both parties will work towards achieving that as it is to the advantage of both parties. I also think Cassel's assertion he'd happily remain a backup here was him just being a good team player and a good guy.

It seems like the Pats and Cassel are very much on the same page at this point.

 

[Brettlax3434]

I saw a video with Mort on ESPN who thinks he'll stay here for the year. I just don't see it. Cassel has at least earned the right to start in this league. While I think his value is a little inflated right now (which works to our advantage), he's also proven he's far better than a lot of the NFL QBs out there.

I agree with you. He wants to start. Thats why i believe a deal is already in place with another team. I just copied that from rotoworld.com because i thought it could help with the discussion.