Cassel Franchised

[cpk1994]

No way they can hold onto the salary.

The Pats franchised him because they *knew* there would be trade suitors. Unlike Peppers and the likelihood that he gets franchised this year. 16.7 mil is too much to take a chance on.

Or the fact there is a good chance that Brady will be unable to polay in 2009 at all.

[Guiness]

A young QB that has shown very good ability far better than anything they could hope to get out of this draft, I'd say there are 4-5 teams seriously considering the trade to get him.

This move puts them with about 1-2M under the cap just for this coming season. It would seem that some reworking of a few deals would easily get them further under the cap to sign their draft picks and some vets at the minimum.

Even if they keep him, I don't see it as a devastating situation to their cap. At worst this is a one year situation.

Wow, I didn't realize their cap situation was so good. They can take that hit, and still be under the cap? Yikes, that franchise just keeps looking better and better.

CC is right, even if this put them against the wall (which it didn't), this is not a devastating situation to their cap, it's a one year thing.

Everybody's assuming that he's on the trade block. Until Brady is 100% cleared to play, NE is not accepting phone calls, no matter what is offered. Franchising him was protecting their investment, but it was also an insurance policy.

IF they trade him, I think it'll be a 1st and 2nd this year, or maybe a 1st this year and next. A bigger question is what kind of contract he'll get. He just got the franchise offer at 14 and change. Will he want a 4yr/$50mil deal???

[Patler]

Don't discount the idea that Brady will be the one they get rid of. He will be 32 years old before the start of this season, which could be a "lost" season for him physically. With all the problems he had, this could be a knee injury like in the old days, when players were never close to the same again after having their knees opened up. Even if he does recover, it could be 2010 before he is the Brady of old, and by how many years might this shorten his career?

A healthy 27-year-old on the rise, or a damaged 32-year-old with an uncertain future? They could easily settle on Cassel.

[Fritz]

As I said in my earlier post, Patler, the organization might decide to "go Thompson" on Brady...

[Patler]

As I said in my earlier post, Patler, the organization might decide to "go Thompson" on Brady...

Yup. They took only a year to pull the plug on Bledsoe, who was just 30 and had been their starter for 8 seasons before getting hurt in his 9th. I'm not suggesting Bledsoe then was as good as Brady before his injury, but Bledsoe had been pretty dependable, played well and Brady was a bit uncertain after his first year, even with all the success they had.

NE has been quick to accept the future when it presents itself.

[sharpe1027]

As I said in my earlier post, Patler, the organization might decide to "go Thompson" on Brady...

That would be even more controversial than Favre/Rodgers. At least with Favre, there was the retirement, the uncertainty on his commitment and the suggestions that he wanted to go elsewhere, ect...

If they traded Brady, people would be up in arms unless they won the superbowl.

[Fritz]

I'll bet they could get a king's ransom for Brady, though, and set themselves up for the next seven or eight years.

[sheepshead]

This one will be fun to watch. Either way it looks like the rich get richer.

[Guiness]

As I said in my earlier post, Patler, the organization might decide to "go Thompson" on Brady...

Yup. They took only a year to pull the plug on Bledsoe, who was just 30 and had been their starter for 8 seasons before getting hurt in his 9th. I'm not suggesting Bledsoe then was as good as Brady before his injury, but Bledsoe had been pretty dependable, played well and Brady was a bit uncertain after his first year, even with all the success they had.

NE has been quick to accept the future when it presents itself.

This is very true. Bledsoe was a top notch QB when he got hurt, and as you pointed out, was even younger than Brady.

I wouldn't discount this at all, especially if he isn't ready this fall, and Cassel starts off well.

[Cheesehead Craig]

I remember on ESPN with Stephen A Smith and some other talking head about a month ago were talking NFL and one of them brought up trading Brady and keeping Cassell. At first Smith was way against it, but then the other guy said what if you get 2 first rounders and a 3rd for Brady? Smith then stopped in his tracks and said that kind of deal would be real hard to pass up. Smith just couldn't find any reasons not to do that kind of deal and he always has something to say to back up his arguments. The Pats would likely get 3 very good draft picks, save lots of money in cap room by getting rid of Brady's contract and signing Cassell to a cheaper deal and get themselves loaded with young talent and be cap rich for a while.

I asked some NE area friends about this and they said a riot would ensue if Brady got traded and that it's inconcievable to NE fans that this would happen.

[texaspackerbacker]

I have no idea how sensitive Belichek and the Pats owner are to their fan base, but if they got rid of Brady, you could take the Favre controversy here and multiply it by about a hundred.

Bretsky, I would agree, getting something for Cassel is better than getting nothing for him, but franchising him means he gets a $14 million plus contract. Nobody in their right mind is gonna trade for him with the millstone of that kind of a contract. And assuming they don't trade Brady or Brady is significantly damaged goods, then they are stuck with Cassel's huge contract--and in a helluva mess.

[Gunakor]

I have no idea how sensitive Belichek and the Pats owner are to their fan base, but if they got rid of Brady, you could take the Favre controversy here and multiply it by about a hundred.

Bretsky, I would agree, getting something for Cassel is better than getting nothing for him, but franchising him means he gets a $14 million plus contract. Nobody in their right mind is gonna trade for him with the millstone of that kind of a contract. And assuming they don't trade Brady or Brady is significantly damaged goods, then they are stuck with Cassel's huge contract--and in a helluva mess.

Any team that trades for Cassel is free to rework his contract, a condition I'm sure would be part of any trade. Cassel won't be making 14 million anywhere other than New England this year.

[texaspackerbacker]

I have no idea how sensitive Belichek and the Pats owner are to their fan base, but if they got rid of Brady, you could take the Favre controversy here and multiply it by about a hundred.

Bretsky, I would agree, getting something for Cassel is better than getting nothing for him, but franchising him means he gets a $14 million plus contract. Nobody in their right mind is gonna trade for him with the millstone of that kind of a contract. And assuming they don't trade Brady or Brady is significantly damaged goods, then they are stuck with Cassel's huge contract--and in a helluva mess.

Any team that trades for Cassel is free to rework his contract, a condition I'm sure would be part of any trade. Cassel won't be making 14 million anywhere other than New England this year.

But if he has a signed contract for $14 million, why would he agree to rework it for a lot less? Maybe $50 million for 5 years, or something like that, but I would question whether he is worth something like that long term.

[LP]

I'll bet they could get a king's ransom for Brady, though, and set themselves up for the next seven or eight years.

Does anyone know if supermodels like to hang out in Minnesota?

[jklowan]

You all have it wrong they are opening a white castle at Patriot place