Gretz: Cassel Trade Still Causing Talk

[Tribal Warfare]

Cassel Trade Still Causing Talk
March 1, 2009 - Bob Gretz |

Could the Patriots have had a first and third-round picks for Matt Cassel? Could they have had at least the No. 12 choice for the New England quarterback? Did the Broncos really offer to trade Jay Cutler if they could get Cassel?

The NFL was still bubbling with chatter about the deal between the Chiefs and Patriots that sent Matt Cassel and Mike Vrabel to Kansas City with a second-round draft choice heading to New England.

And if there are any truths to the stories being told around the league, then Saturday morning had to be a very interesting time for Bill Belichick and the Patriots.

Let’s see if we can weave all this together.

Everyone knew Friday that Vrabel was headed to the Chiefs. The fact he was in Kansas City for a physical was important because the linebacker apparently was bothered by a shoulder injury last season and some Boston media outlets have reported he needs surgery on that shoulder.

But while Vrabel was obviously important as far as the Chiefs and Scott Pioli were concerned, the rest of the league was not much interested in the veteran linebacker.

There was, however, interest in Cassel. But apparently, before Saturday there were not a lot of teams expressing that interest to the Patriots. Two factors may have held teams back: the $14.65 million franchise tag that Cassel carries and the fact that making a deal for the quarterback would require high draft choice compensation.

As the new NFL fiscal season started late Thursday evening, the Chiefs were the team standing at the counter, ready to place an order for Cassel. When nobody else showed up, Belilchick and Pioli put together the parameters of a deal.

That was in place Saturday morning. That’s when the rest of the league got wind of what the price tag was and suddenly, teams shifted into gear. Tampa Bay and Detroit reportedly were the two teams that expressed interest and they drew Denver into the situation.

Here’s what was going down, according to the NFL Network’s Adam Schefter: a three-team trade was proposed. Tampa Bay’s first round pick (No. 19) would go to New England. The Broncos would send Jay Cutler to the Bucs and the Patriots would send Cassel to Denver. Remember, former Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels is now the head coach of the Broncos.

Apparently when that wouldn’t come together, the Broncos offered their first-round pick (No. 12) straight up for Cassel and the Buccaneers offered a first and third round picks.

If any of this is true, then why is Cassel in Kansas City and not Denver or Tampa Bay? There can only be one answer: the Patriots deal with the Chiefs was done, and Belichick wasn’t going to back out at the last minute. That might be true with anyone in his dealings with anyone, but it would especially be true of someone who is a friend and former colleague.

If the bubbling grapevine is even close to accurate, and we’ll never know because Belichick and Pioli won’t talk about what happened, then Cassel is with the Chiefs because Pioli was a step ahead of the rest of the league.