A trade that absolutely needs to happen next season

[MrBigglesWorth]

I think you hold onto Cassel for one more season at the minimum. They should draft a 3rd qb to put behind cassel and groom him, then trade cassel for the right price. you need to hold onto him right now as insurance to brady

 

[MoLewisrocks]

You sign a veteran to play band-aid for a few years (backup quarterbacks always seem to be floating around), then draft someone young the Patriots can groom.

That is easier said than done. There were not many viable backups floating around last off season. Let alone any viable enough to run this sight adjusted offense.


Yeah, I never once suggested that anyone would trade a pick for him straight up. I suggested packaging other picks with him. Do you think that no one would take a chance with Cassell, when all they would risk is moving down in the first round? Think about how many QB busts their have been. I think there is a much smaller risk with Cassell then there is with some unproven rookie.

Which is why he is worth more to us on the roster today than moving up in the draft. When he isn't worth more is when BB will move him. And if that day doesn't come BB won't lose sleep over it because he will have already gotten incredible value out of the 7th round in 2005. Same as he did with Givens for 4 seasons.

 

[arrellbee]

I just can't WAIT to get rid of Cassel so we can have those unending discussions about how the Patriots have messed up and
- don't have a backup for Brady
- that veteran QBs are useless as a backup QB - we need somebody young and capable of taking the Pats to another SB
- should have used 1st round draft picks to get a backup QB (or 1st day, or whatever) - but no suggestion as to what player they wouldn't have drafted so as to use the draft pick for a QB
- Brady could get injured anytime - the team let itself get into a high risk position by not drafting [you fill in the name of an overhyped QB in recent drafts] to insure the ongoing success of the team
- Should have signed a free agent [fill in the blank with a name like Culpepper] no matter what the cost so we would have a quality backup at such a crucial position

etc.

Can't wait.

 

[PonyExpress]

This whole subject is a tedious argument of insidious intent leading to an underwhelming question. Keep Cassel.

 

[PATSNUTme]

I just can't WAIT to get rid of Cassel so we can have those unending discussions about how the Patriots have messed up and
- don't have a backup for Brady
- that veteran QBs are useless as a backup QB - we need somebody young and capable of taking the Pats to another SB
- should have used 1st round draft picks to get a backup QB (or 1st day, or whatever) - but no suggestion as to what player they wouldn't have drafted so as to use the draft pick for a QB
- Brady could get injured anytime - the team let itself get into a high risk position by not drafting [you fill in the name of an overhyped QB in recent drafts] to insure the ongoing success of the team
- Should have signed a free agent [fill in the blank with a name like Culpepper] no matter what the cost so we would have a quality backup at such a crucial position

etc.

Can't wait.

Agree 100%. Every team is just one hit away from playing their #2 and that includes the Patriots. The fact that Tom has been so durable has warped the thinking of some Patriots fans.

Having a good #2 QB is worth as much as a getting a good D player. BB and the coaches think that Cassel is that guy and that's good enough for me.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

Which is why I expect a QB to be drafted on the second day this year to have a year behind Cassel who we can still trade before the 2008 draft.

That was exactly my thinking. If we see a Day 2 QB, then it's likely Cassel will be going elsewhere in 2008.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

That was exactly my thinking. If we see a Day 2 QB, then it's likely Cassel will be going elsewhere in 2008.

Only if he makes it through TC as a #3 worthy of a roster spot. Unless BB finds another diamond in the rough who actually has the capacity to climb to #2 on the depth chart over a season Cassel will remain until or unless Belichick gets an offer he just cannot refuse. And absent another developmental QB who shows real promise (and leadership and all the intangibles you need to posess to succeed on this team) it would have to be one hell of an offer to lure BB back into the minefield that is the backup QB market. The good ones are rare and expensive, the lousy ones just tie up a roster spot.

 

[patchick]

I actually do believe Cassel could garner a 1st-day pick. He's a big, strong-armed QB straight out of central casting. He's spent the past two seasons learning the NFL game and earned enough of BB's respect for the team to bring in zero competition for the #2 job after his rookie season. Compare that to, say, an Alex Smith out of shotgun-happy Utah. Who's really the riskier selection? If I were a Green Bay I'd definitely take the chance. And if I were the Patriots...

...I'd say NO WAY!

Why are so many people here so eager to leave this team without a backup quarterback?? Scarcely a month goes by without a new "trade Cassel" crusade. Right now the team has an excellent situation: a promising young QB who's spend two years watching Tom Brady's every move and try to become his mini-me, and who's under contract at trivial dollars for TWO more years.

What do you gain by trading him now vs. in a year? Almost nothing. What do you gain by keeping him? A potentially invaluable commodity: somebody who could hold your season together if Brady suffers a medium-severity injury (like Hasselbeck this year).

For heaven's sake, keep him!