The New England Patriots have been in the news quite a bit the past week, and their quarterback situation for 2009 seems to be the primary reason. First, there was the report from Mike Lombardi that it was, pretty much, a slam dunk that New England would place the franchise tag on free-agent-to-be quarterback Matt Cassel. Then, on Tuesday, Wilson passed along the report from the Dan Patrick show that Tom Brady's knee is still a major league mess, and that we could see a two-headed monster of Tom Terrific and Cassel next season for New England. So, naturally, Tom Curran of NBC Sports passes along today's news that the Patriots have not yet made up their minds with Cassel, possibly because franchising him could destroy their salary cap in 2009.
From Curran:
A source who'll be directly involved in the call on the Patriots ascendant quarterback said in an email that the report was "speculation," adding "needless to say, no decision has been made."As we've already learned, franchising Cassel would cost the Patriots over $14 million in 2009. When you combine that with the $14.6 million Brady is set to make, you've got over $28 million tied up in two players playing the same position. To further complicate things, and depending on which reports you believe, Brady may not be healthy enough to play early in the season, while Cassel ... well ... what if he's just not as good as we think right now?
Curran also points out that should the Patriots tag Cassel, and assuming nobody restructures existing contracts, the Patriots will have $65 million of the $123 million salary cap tied up in just seven players.
Making things even tighter for the Pats is the fact that several other key players also have ballooning cap numbers in 2009. Unless restructuring is done, Brady, Cassel, Richard Seymour, Randy Moss, Adalius Thomas, Matt Light and Jarvis Green have 2009 cap hits that add up to approximately $65 million. That would leave New England with just $58 million to pay for the other 46 men on the roster. Currently, the Patriots have about $101 million allocated to 44 players. If they franchise Cassel, that will be close to $115 million for 45.Sounds like quite a headache for the New England front office. You know, maybe now would be the right time for Scott Pioli to consider moving on to another team.
Regardless of what the Patriots do -- or don't do -- with Cassel, he's still looking at a huge check this offseason, whether it be a $14 million one-year deal with New England, or a long-term deal with another team desperately looking for a quarterback.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
1-07-2009 @ 5:05PM
Joe said...
What exactly are the rules for salary cap compliance in the NFL? I know in the NHL, you do not have to be compliant until Day 1 of the regular season. If it is the same in the NFL, this still gives a lot of latitude to the Patriots, and makes this entire argument moot. The Pats can franchise Cassel, and he won't earn a paycheck until after Week 1. Once training camp arrives, they should know if Brady will be good to go or not, at least for the start of the year. If he is ok, then you trade Cassel, and there WILL be takers. If he is not ok, then you put him on the 6-week PUP (does his contract count against the cap during that time?). If he is really far back in his progress, just land him on the IR, at which point he stops counting against the cap, and so you've only got one 14-million QB on the roster, at least as far as the cap is concerned. Regardless, the Pats will likely manage this in such a way that they only end up with one expensive QB on the roster. The other QB will either be injured, and likely not counting against the cap, or will be traded away, and obviously not on their cap.
This is all assuming salary cap compliance in the NFL is only required starting in Week 1. If its earlier than that, then everything I just wrote would pretty much not be applicable.
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1-07-2009 @ 5:54PM
JOHN STANEK said...
GET RID OF BRADY. CASSEL CAN TAKE HIT AND PRETTY BOY WONT BUT JUST THROW THE BALL OUT OF BOUNDS BEFORE GETTING SACKED.
1-07-2009 @ 6:07PM
StephanieInCA said...
Pats fans looking for a team to root for in the AFC playoffs should consider this handy flowchart. Or, you know, just keep drinking til the hurting stops.
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1-07-2009 @ 6:08PM
StephanieInCA said...
forgot to add the link: http://urbzen.com/2009/01/07/nfl-playoff-chart-part-one-who-are-we-rooting-for-this-weekend/
1-07-2009 @ 6:31PM
David said...
Got a bit excited there, eh Steph...
I've noticed that happens a lot to pot-stirrers.
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1-07-2009 @ 8:04PM
Mr. Miyagi said...
David, what does pot smoking have to do with Pats football?
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1-16-2009 @ 5:02PM
bucki345 said...
If Tom's knee is that bad, he should retire into politics and play touch with his wife. Forcing himself to play will only add more pain in the future when he tries to climb out of bed in the morning.
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