Matt Cassel Traded to Chiefs

by AndYourBirdCanSing on Feb 28, 2009 10:16 AM PST Comment 31 comments

FOOCH'S NOTE 11:15AM: Obviously this isn't a 49er pickup, but it will end any discussion of Cassel going to the 49ers. We've got an ESPN link and NFL.com link. Vrabel and Cassel for a high 2nd round pick? I think the Chiefs made off quite well, particularly given the state of their QB situation, which is much worse than the 49ers.
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NFL Network's Adam Schefter reports that Matt Cassel has been traded to the Chiefs.

The Boston Globe's Mike Reiss has confirmed the news, which is part of the trade sending Mike Vrabel to Kansas City. There were rumors Cassel could be involved in a three-team swap, but it appears Kansas City will be his final destination. Compensation has not been announced, but it's safe to say the Tyler Thigpen era is over before it started.

Well this certainly changes the first round of the draft. With Cassel, I doubt they'd draft a QB. I don't know that much about the Chiefs. What are their other needs?

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of Niners Nation's writers or editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of Niners Nation's writers or editors.

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They need

49er fans to stop talking about them. That’s what they need.

by Blank x2 on Feb 28, 2009 10:19 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

could we get a

link please?

by Dub4lif3 on Feb 28, 2009 10:22 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

nevermind

i got it sorry

by Dub4lif3 on Feb 28, 2009 10:25 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

http://blogs.nfl.com/2009/02/28/chiefs-complete-trade-for-cassel/

Throwback unis? Yes. Throwback afros? YES!

by grantmp on Feb 28, 2009 10:32 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

upshot for the 49ers?

Definitely bad news. This takes one of the teams that was most likely to draft a QB in the top 10 out of the mix. Because you know the Pats are looking to land Aaron Curry—especially after they traded Vrabel away.

Throwback unis? Yes. Throwback afros? YES!

by grantmp on Feb 28, 2009 10:39 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

We are looking to get curry at #3

K.C. has been looking to get him since the get go. Thigpen and casse lare very comparable,taking to consideration the teams they had to play for last year. Now that we have two QBs that are able to lead this team we are and have been consentrating on Curry ,I believe, We are switching to a 3-4 defense and need all the LBs we can get. If we cant get him then I believe we will go O-line. I believe we will wait to see how these QBS are before or IF we draft one next year in that QB class.

by kcoutlaw2 on Mar 2, 2009 2:02 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Wow. What a huge trade!

My Dave Righetti is better than your Dave Righetti.

by howtheyscored on Feb 28, 2009 10:55 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

FOR A SECOND ROUND PICK!!!!!!!! PLUS THEY GET VRABEL

by StrictlyFootball on Feb 28, 2009 11:05 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

Is that all?

My impression was that they got the 2nd-rounder for Vrabel. I thought the compensation for a Franchise Player is something like 2 1st-rounders. Can anybody help me out here?

Throwback unis? Yes. Throwback afros? YES!

by grantmp on Feb 28, 2009 12:11 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Franchise Details

If another team signs a player that has been tagged, in order for the deal to be complete they must send the tagging team 2 1st round draft picks. However, if the tagging team decides to ship the tagged player, they can ask whatever they want.

A 2nd round pick is a big deal; a 4 or 5 year, potential starter, for only 1 or 1.5 mil a year. The pats could have gotten more (and I think should have), but they are getting a pick close to where they pick every year, they get rid of 14.65 mil off the cap, so they can make more moves

Blind devotion.

by ProfessorBigelow on Feb 28, 2009 12:35 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Thanks

That still seems like a total steal. Remember the Matt Schaub Falcons-Texans trade? That one involved a swap of first-round choices in 2007 (Falcons trading up) and second-round picks in the 2007 and 2008 drafts. And that was for a guy who had sat on the bench behind Mike Vick and only really seen spot duty—far from a 16 game starter who went 11-5. And Vrabel just gets thrown in just for kicks? This looks like something akin to a fired Wall Stree exec’s “golden parachute.”

Throwback unis? Yes. Throwback afros? YES!

by grantmp on Feb 28, 2009 12:48 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Pioli 1, Patriots 0

Blind devotion.

by ProfessorBigelow on Feb 28, 2009 11:16 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

I dont know if their QB situation was much worse than ours...

Tyler Thigpen was pretty damn good last year…

by StrictlyFootball on Feb 28, 2009 11:20 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

true

He was pretty solid last year.

by Fooch on Feb 28, 2009 11:23 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

I would like to see us try to get him...

maybe trade a low draft pick or perhaps trade a back-up player.

by StrictlyFootball on Feb 28, 2009 11:38 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

thigpen

Even with Cassel now, would they really trade Thigpen for a low draft pick? Given that it was only his second year, he’s probably got some solid value.

by Fooch on Feb 28, 2009 11:42 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Perhaps but i think...

if there is an option to improve their secondary, or D-Line core and we are willing to trade a guy of equal value (perhaps a Terell Brown, Marcus Hudson or even an Issac Sopoaga) than you do it. If they are worried about a back-up sign a Rex Grossman or Jeff Garcia, but there is no point in having a back-up quarter back if you can improve in another position.

by StrictlyFootball on Feb 28, 2009 11:54 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Plus I would rather spend a 4th round pick on Thigpen than a 1st or 2nd on any of the QB's this year.

by StrictlyFootball on Feb 28, 2009 12:02 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

+1

This years draft sucks for QB’s, so that’d be a good deal.

Throwback unis? Yes. Throwback afros? YES!

by grantmp on Feb 28, 2009 12:15 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

+2

I bet the Chiefs keep him and Cassel flames out week 7. However, we should make that phone call to the Chiefs.

by bignerd on Feb 28, 2009 12:54 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

I loved Thigpen.

That’s why this surprises me so much—he played better than both Flacco and Ryan, didn’t he? I hate the fact that he got overlooked. The Chiefs have two decent starters at QB now.

by Ninjames on Feb 28, 2009 1:00 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Talent wise the trade makes no sense. Even if Brady came back healthy and played the entire 2009 season Cassel’s value would have still been high . . . just like Steve Young’s trade value was always high sitting behind Montana.

I’m not big on Cassel. I thought Thigpen was a NFL starting QB so I don’t think the Chiefs got a steal. I will say the Patriots could have received a lot more in return for Cassel. Maybe they felt they didn’t have the money to keep him as a backup and needed to dump him.

by bignerd on Feb 28, 2009 12:53 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

$$

Now that I think about it more, it does look like a salary dump. That’s probably why they included Vrabel, too; they needed to get him off their cap and so they were willing to take less on the basis that the Chiefs would eat his salary. The reason it still seems a bit crazy to me, though, is that the draft pundits were all convinced that virtually any team in the draft would be better served by picking up Cassel then they would’ve been by picking up Sanchez or Stafford in the draft. And yet everybody is still convinced that those two guys are sure-fire 1st-rounders. So why couldn’t they have gotten a 1st-rounder for Cassel? I get that the Pats don’t like the pay scale of those 1st-rounders, but this all seems like insider trading to me.

Throwback unis? Yes. Throwback afros? YES!

by grantmp on Feb 28, 2009 1:29 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

If it was a salary dump, then it seems unbelievably stupid to have franchised him to begin with. There just has to be more to it than that.

My Dave Righetti is better than your Dave Righetti.

by howtheyscored on Mar 1, 2009 12:04 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

if they dont franchise him they lose him for nothing instead they franchise him and got rid of an aging linebacker a high 2nd round pick….move is genius

by cazzuno on Mar 1, 2009 1:49 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

But that’s not a salary dump. That’s actually, like you say, very calculated.

My Dave Righetti is better than your Dave Righetti.

by howtheyscored on Mar 1, 2009 3:02 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Disagree.

I don’t think Cassel’s trade value would be higher if Brady came back and showed he could still play. If Brady showed he can still play, the Patriots obviously wouldn’t need Cassel, which means they HAVE to unload him, else lose him for nothing to FA.

by sfgfan on Feb 28, 2009 11:03 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Chiefs / Patriots

So between Pioli, Vrabel, and Cassel… the Chiefs are pretty much Patriots lite.

by Hella Niners on Feb 28, 2009 1:41 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

Lite?

If that’s lite, it’s an extreme kind of “lite.”

by sfgfan on Feb 28, 2009 11:04 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Lite.

I only say lite because they won’t be anywhere near as good.

by Hella Niners on Mar 6, 2009 1:48 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

One of the prevailing thoughts I've seen

mentioned for the Pats motivation here was to clear up cap space to make a trade for Julius Peppers. He wants to play OLB in a 3-4, and the Pats now have a gapping hole at OLB with Vrabel gone in this deal. I don’t know if they’ll have to give up more than the 2nd rounder they got for Cassel/Vrabel, but even if it’s their 1st round pick I think that Peppers and the 2nd rounder would be as helpful if not more so to the Pats than Cassel/Vrabel/1st rounder.

"So's your mom"-David Sloane

by gatling on Mar 2, 2009 7:04 AM PST reply actions 0 recs