Matt Cassel will be headed to Kansas City in a deal that will bring himself along with Mike Vrabel to the Chiefs for a 2nd round pick(34th overall). I would say that Scott Pioli got a “thank you for your years of service” deal in this. The Chiefs have nothing to lose and a great deal to gain. A second rounder for a franchise quarterback and a linebacker that has two to three years left of productivity. The Chiefs know what they got in Cassel, so let’s break down the main piece of the deal.
Cassel was 11-5 on the season last year, he went from almost being cut in the pre-season(outperformed by Kevin O’Connell) to being one of the most reliable starters in football. This is a guy who backed up Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart his whole college career, the same guy who was moved to tight end for a short while because of his atheleticism at USC. Cassel last year looked more and more comfortable in the offense, and showed tremendous growth week in and week out. Bill Belichick gained confidence in him and opened up the playbook and Cassel continued to shine. There are many teams in need of a quarterback and like I said before the Chiefs are way ahead in the rebuilding process.
Let’s take a look at the notable free agent quarterbacks this year. The list includes Kurt Warner, Kerry Collins, Jeff Garcia, and Damon Huard. Outside of Warner, that list is not to enticing to a team looking for a franchise quarterback. Now let’s talk about drafting a quarterback in the first round. Since 2005 the average contract for a quarterback drafted in the first round is 6 years, $60 million. Not included is the average guaranteed money given is $29.2 million, for a guy that hasn’t even taken a snap in the NFL. Cassel seems like a pretty good value when compared to these rookie quarterbacks. The list of first round busts is pretty impressive, a sort of “Where are they now” of past picks. There is the bust of all busts, Ryan Leaf, followed by Alex Smith, Andre Ware, Cade McNown, David Carr, Tim Couch, Akili Smith, Rick Mirer, Heath Shuler, Kelly Stouffer, Jim Druckenmiller, David Klingler, Tommy Maddox, Todd Marinovich, and Dan McGwire.
The quarterbacks coming out this year are at best average, it’s a down year for quarterbacks. The comparisons of Matthew Stafford to Matthew Ryan end at the fact that they share the same first name. Stafford is not a difference maker, he is coming out as a junior, and will undoubtedly need time to develop. Stafford would be best served holding a clipboard his first year in the NFL. Mark Sanchez is another junior projected to go in the first round. Pete Carroll was adamant that this kid should not be coming out, again he will need time to develop. Sanchez offers a little bit more mobility than Stafford, but he had durability concerns at USC. It is no secret that juniors who leave college early for the NFL Draft will struggle, and some will never gain the necessary experience in college to be productive in the NFL.
The Kansas City Chiefs can now focus on the draft and explore their options, they can now go after a player like Aaron Curry out of Wake Forest, a versatile and athletic linebacker, whose game is NFL ready. The Chiefs could also go after a top lineman to protect Cassel. The team has been hit hard on the offensive line by the retirements of Willie Roaf and Will Shields the last couple of years, and what is better than drafting a big ugly to help you protect your franchise quarterback, such as Jason Smith or Andre Smith. This deal speeds up the rebuilding process in Kansas City, and we believe Tony Gonzalez and Dwayne Bowe approved of this deal. Scott Pioli appears to be pulling the same strings he pulled in creating the Patriots’ dynasty, and Chiefs fans should be excited that they have him making front office decisions.