Re: Adam Sch. reports : Matt Cassel to Chiefs ! [merged]
Or, being that the Patriots have the GOAT QB starting for them right now, it might be forgotten soon after. Even if Cassel has a good career, he's not going to be Tom Brady. Were you bugging out like this after the Bledsoe trade? How'd that work out?
Pioli clearly valued Cassel very highly, but his offer was only a 2nd, and that offer included Vrabel coming to the Chiefs (which may have saved Vrabel from being cut for cap reasons). We have to assume the Chiefs put the best deal on the table. Obviously NFL GMs did not value Cassel as highly as Patsfans.com did.
I suspect the blow will be lessened somewhat by potential signings of guys like Bodden, Houshmandzadeh, or Lewis. Maybe Jason Taylor will be available. Maybe they'll deal for Peppers or Tomlinson. Maybe they'll wheel and deal on draft day and pick up some studs.
Losing Cassel doesn't hurt the team. Consider that 2nd rounder free money.
I was actually on the Brady side of the aisle when it came to trading Bledsoe. Despite being a huge fan of Drew, it seemed clear that Drew had reached his ceiling and he just couldn't do any more for the team. Great guy... great memories of him in a Pats uniform, but Brady had "it".
If I had to compare anything, it would be losing Vrabel to losing Bledsoe. Both were great Patriots and hard to see leave, but somewhat expendable for a team that is constantly trying to stay competitive.
And in fact my issues have nothing to do with the Patriots having Brady at QB or not. Obviously value is determined by the market and I felt the market should had been better when you consider there are few free agent QBs considered franchise guys and maybe one legitimate franchise guy in the draft.
Don't misunderstand...
I'm happy for Cassel, Pioli and KC.
I'm happy the Pats have 17 mil to play with in free agency.
but to my earlier point, I venture to guess that the media and history will remember what Cassel goes on to do in his career and connect that to what KC had to part with.
EXAMPLE:
In 1997 the Seattle Mariners traded Derek Lowe and Jason Varitek to the Bo Sox for Heathcliff Slocumb. Seattle was a closer away from being, what they thought, was a World Series champion. They already had Dan Wilson at catcher and a decent pitching staff. To this day, Mariner fans won't let it go. At the time, it made sense to seal up the bullpen/closer position. Now all that is remembered is the fact that they gave up Lowe and Varitek for some closer from Boston. Meanwhile both have gone on to win Championships and it is remembered that Seattle was on the brink of getting past the Yankees in the AL.
