2009 NFL Offseason Thread

[mtbykr]

Reliable sourse:

 

http://www.boston.com/sports/football/patriots/reiss_pieces/2009/02/trade_details_3.html

 

 

The Chiefs have just announced today's trade that sends Matt Cassel and Mike Vrabel to Kansas City. The Patriots will receive a second-round draft choice in return (34th overall).

 

The Chiefs said the deal is contingent on both players passing their physicals.

 

More to come.

 

Wow,,,,maybe Pioli has some compromising pics of BB or Kraft?

[BSN07]

5 years for Brian Dawkins???

 

You can't take Football contracts at face value like you do in Baseball. It's a 2 year deal. Just like Haynesworth will never see all 7 years 100M of his deal. You have to look at the GTD money, and in Dawkins case it's 2 years 9M.

[BSN07]

Reliable sourse:

 

http://www.boston.com/sports/football/patriots/reiss_pieces/2009/02/trade_details_3.html

 

Wow,,,,maybe Pioli has some compromising pics of BB or Kraft?

 

Or like King said, Bill did Scott a solid.

 

The move doesn't hurt the Pats long term. They got a good pick, cleared some cap space. And they where able to send Cassel to a good situation.

[mtbykr]

Or like King said, Bill did Scott a solid.

 

The move doesn't hurt the Pats long term. They got a good pick, cleared some cap space. And they where able to send Cassel to a good situation.

 

I agree....The cap space is very important to be sure and it's a good pick

 

 

My take: Bill Belichick either didn't get a better offer, or he did one of his best friends, Pioli, a favor with a player Belichick wanted to put in a good situation; Belichick is very fond of Cassel. It would not be surprising to see Belichick make the deal with Pioli because both were trained under Bill Parcells, and Parcells always made sure he watched out for his lieutenants and helped them whenever it didn't hurt him.

[BSN07]

I think they cleared close to 20M towards next years cap?

 

Vrabel-3.25M, Cassel-16M

[mtbykr]

I think they cleared close to 20M towards next years cap?

 

Vrabel-3.25M, Cassel-16M

 

$18mil between the two

[mtbykr]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/don_banks/02/28/cassel.traded.chiefs/index.html?eref=T1

 

but the second-round pick compensation the Chiefs gave up for both Cassel and fellow Patriot, linebacker Mike Vrabel, is so laughably low that we must ask whether Bill Belichick has grown soft before our very eyes?

 

First Tom Brady is caught numerous times looking like Gisele's well-dressed errand boy, now this. Belichick doing both Pioli and Cassel a huge favor by not demanding more than the 34th overall pick in the draft for two players who could have brought far more in value from about 30 other NFL teams.

 

Mr. Nice Guy, Bill Belichick. I don't know that we should get used to that idea, but in this case he unquestionably did a nice thing for two people he feels a kinship for and considers friends. And that's going to make us think a bit differently of Belichick's image and reputation for a while.

 

Maybe he's even looking to soften his gruff, all-business persona to some degree, because like one veteran league observer reminded me Friday afternoon, even Bill Parcells got a little kinder and gentler as his long career went on. The demanding my-way-or-the-highway Parcells of those early Giants years was not the same, occasionally tolerant and even sentimental guy we've seen on the job in Dallas or Miami. Time softens everyone a bit, I suppose.

[mtbykr]

BB on Vrabel:

 

"When Mike arrived in 2001, we knew we were adding a solid outside linebacker,” said Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick. “But where Mike took it from there exceeded our highest hopes. Mike Vrabel epitomizes everything a coach could seek in a professional football player: toughness, intelligence, playmaking, leadership, versatility and consistency at the highest level. Behind the scenes, Mike's wit and personality is one of the things we have all enjoyed about coming to work every day. The toughest aspect of my job is the day I stop coaching people like Mike, who did everything in his power to contribute to team success. Of all the players I have coached in my career, there is nobody I enjoyed working with more than Mike. In the same way people recognize guys like Troy Brown, we appreciate and thank Mike Vrabel. He is one of the very special Patriots champions."

 

on Cassel:

 

As for Matt Cassel, Coach Belichick added, "It is very easy to root for guys like Matt Cassel, who do everything the right way and flourish as a result. As much as we would have loved to continue working with Matt, we wish him nothing but the best as he takes this next step forward in his career."

[TheKilo]

Or like King said, Bill did Scott a solid.

 

.

 

LOL

 

The 34th pick is fair value for Matt Cassel. You're kidding yourself if you think otherwise.

[mtbykr]

http://blogs.nfl.com/2009/02/28/cutler-upset-over-potential-deals-to-detroit-tampa-bay/

 

There’s one story behind the trade of Matt Cassel to the Chiefs. There’s a whole other story behind that blockbuster story.

 

While New England and Kansas City were agreeing to Saturday’s trade of Cassel to the Chiefs for the draft’s 34th overall pick, there were more teams in the mix. Detroit, Tampa and Denver were involved in trade talks of their own also tied to Cassel, according to sources in the respective NFL cities.

 

Tampa approached Denver to try to make a three-way trade that would have sent Cassel to the Broncos and quarterback Jay Cutler to the Buccaneers. The Broncos entertained the notion and pondered it but ultimately decided against it.

 

Also, the Lions approached the Broncos about a trade for Cutler, trying to dangle Cassel as bait. Once again, Denver debated the deal and opted against it apparently. What made it a moot point was that while all Tampa, Detroit and Denver engaged in trade talks with New Engalnd, the Patriots went ahead and dealt Cassel to the Chiefs.

 

The Broncos firmly maintain that they never intended to trade Cutler, that they were approached to make the trades. But, as of Saturday afternoon, Cutler was angry to hear that his name had been floated in any trade conversations.

 

Now the Chiefs have Cassel, the Broncos still have Cutler and the Lions and Buccaneers continue their search for quarterbacks in one of the wilder and more complex behind-the-scene dramas the NFL has seen in any recent offseason.

[Jacoby_Ellsbury]

We could have had Jay Cutler? f*** f*** f*** f*** f*** f*** f***

[BSN07]

LOL

 

The 34th pick is fair value for Matt Cassel. You're kidding yourself if you think otherwise.

 

Matt Schaub pulled in 2 2nd round picks 2 seasons ago. I think Cassel is better and has more value. But I do agree to some extent that Cassel could be fools gold. but he is going into a decent situation. A Lot better then if he went to Detroit.

 

 

But Yes I would consider it ok compensation for Cassel. It seems a bit on the light side when you throw Vrabel into the mix.

[BSN07]

http://blogs.nfl.com/2009/02/28/cutler-upset-over-potential-deals-to-detroit-tampa-bay/

 

Denver was smart here. Trading Cutler would have been extremely dumb. Cutler is on the verge of seperating himself as one of the top tier QB's in the league.

[TheKilo]

Matt Schaub pulled in 2 2nd round picks 2 seasons ago. I think Cassel is better and has more value. But I do agree to some extent that Cassel could be fools gold. but he is going into a decent situation. A Lot better then if he went to Detroit.

 

 

But Yes I would consider it ok compensation for Cassel. It seems a bit on the light side when you throw Vrabel into the mix.

 

Matt Schaub also didn't have a contract totaling over $14 million.

[BSN07]

Matt Schaub also didn't have a contract totaling over $14 million.

 

Fair enough, but I say there is a pretty good chance they ink him to a long term deal that will negate the previous deal of 1 year/16M. It will probably end up more like 5 years 45-60M.

[Jacoby_Ellsbury]

Since Cassel isn't a possibility, I wonder if we'll go after Tyler Thigpen. He showed some promise with the Chiefs, and he would come a lot cheaper than Cassel.

 

 

Or option B, sign a one/two year stopgap (Rex Grossman or J.P. Losman) and groom Josh Johnson.

[mtbykr]

Matt Schaub also didn't have a contract totaling over $14 million.

 

I would imagine that part of the trade was agreeing to terms on a longer deal with Cassel.....rather than the franchise tag.

[TheKilo]

That figure made the Pats more desparate to trade Cassel

[CrespoBlows]

I like that aggressive move, but they need to tone done a little bit.

[See Red]

I'd have been on suicide watch if the Broncos would have traded Cutler for Cassell. Be sure I'd have taken McDaniels first, though.

 

But yeah, the Dawkins deal is essentially two years, since that's probably all he'll want to play. I like the deal!

 

lmao... Apparently people within the league think Cutler's plateaued and has gotten as good as he will be... he was in the Pro Bowl!

[riverside sluggers]

A source with knowledge of the situation tells Profootballtalk.com that Jay Cutler was at one point as good as "gone" during trade talks with the Patriots that ultimately fell through.

 

It sounds like Josh McDaniels wanted Matt Cassel bad and either the Lions or Bucs were ready to fork over a first-round pick plus for Cutler. Cutler's agent, Bus Cook, says the Broncos "just told me that only inquiries were being made." "Jay Cutler is pissed, no doubt about it," Cook added. "I wouldn't blame him. Cutler is the best young quarterback in the entire league."

 

I dont blame Cutler being pissed off. He is solid as they come, and his new coach tried to trade him to the Lions who just went 0-16 with no hope in sight. McDaniels has a lot of work to do, trust is key between the coach and QB

[See Red]

McDaniels is an *******.

 

What a cocky prick he is -- who comes into town with his first head coaching job and trades his 25 year old Pro Bowl QB because he liked the guy he had more? And everybody thinks Shanahan had an ego. Jesus...

[mtbykr]

To quote Parcells: "If they want you to cook dinner, then you should be able to shop for the groceries" Bottom line is that McDaniels knows what he has with Cassel, and maybe he doesn't think Cutler will fit well in his system. The pats have done well by finding guys that will be able to function well in their system....not fine tuning their system around players.

 

I heard on WEEI this morning that the Bucs wanted Cassel or Cutler....and offered a 1st and 3rd to the pats for Cassel. They made the same offer to the Broncos for Cutler in a 3 way trade, but they initiated all of this after Schefter was reporting a done deal with KC. If this is true it makes you wonder what took so long for Tampa to get their act together.

[mtbykr]

http://www.profootballtalk.com/2009/03/01/did-bucs-offer-come-too-late/

 

 

ESPN’s Chris Mortensen has reported, with excellent elaboration via ESPN.com’s Tim Graham, that the Buccaneers offered a first-round and a third-round pick for quarterback Matt Cassel as part of the menage-a-trade that would have sent quarterback Matt Cassel to the Broncos and quarterback Jay Cutler to Tampa.

 

So why did the Pats pass?

 

A reader has shared with us this nugget from Michael Felger of WEEI. Put simply, the Bucs arrived at the party too late (and possibly with a cinnamon bobka).

 

If that’s the case, then it all makes sense.

 

But Mort says (via Graham) that the Broncos were willing to give up their own first-round pick — No. 12 overall in the draft — for Cassel. Under those circumstances, why didn’t Belichick bite?

 

We agree with Mortensen’s suggestion that Belichick would be less willing to help a former assistant coach than to help the front-office guy who helped set the table for those three Super Bowl victories in four year.

 

Mort also suggests that the Pats leaked word of the Broncos’ effort to trade Cutler to the Boston Globe as a way to mess with the Broncos.

 

Um, wow.

 

We only wish that the Broncos and Pats played each other twice per year. As a consolation, the Broncos and Chiefs still do.

 

UPDATE: Tom Curran also reports that the Bucs and Broncos showed up after Pats coach Bill Belichick had decided to pull the trigger on the trade with the Chiefs. Credit Chiefs G.M. Scott Pioli for: (1) knowing that the Patriots were ready to do something right away with Cassel; and (2) getting a number and placing his order while the other teams were still loitering in the lobby of Schnitzer’s.

[CrespoBlows]

I don't take anything Mortensen says seriously.

[mtbykr]

http://blogs.nfl.com/2009/03/01/broncos-give-ex-dolphins-cb-goodman-five-year-deal/

 

 

The Denver Broncos and free-agent CB Andre Goodman agreed Sunday night on a five-year, $25 million contract that includes over $10 million in guaranteed money. Goodman is a seven-year NFL veteran who started all 16 regular-season games for the Miami Dolphins last season and had a team-high five interceptions.

[See Red]

http://blogs.nfl.com/2009/03/01/broncos-give-ex-dolphins-cb-goodman-five-year-deal/

 

I'd love to be excited... but I've never heard of him. Pats fans see him twice a year... is he any good?

[BSN07]

He's a solid DB.

[Jacoby_Ellsbury]

Solid system DB. Pretty average player.

[mtbykr]

http://blogs.nfl.com/2009/03/02/peppers-will-be-harder-to-trade-than-cassel/

 

 

 

 

 

Now that QB Matt Cassel has been dealt to the Kansas City Chiefs, trade speculation has shifted to another franchised player, Carolina Panthers DE Julius Peppers.

 

Yet the two situations are as different as the two players.

 

Peppers has a franchise tender and cannot be traded until he signs it, which means any trade discussions must go through his agent, Carl Carey. Under the terms of the collective bargaining agreement, Carolina is prohibited from discussing a deal for Peppers with another team. If the Panthers did, it immediately would bring an NFL Players Association grievance.

 

Cassel had a signed contract and was trade-able, just like any other player with his contract. Once he signed the franchise tender, he forfeited his rights to broker a deal. It’s why the Patriots were able to trade Cassel to the Chiefs on Saturday morning without the blessing of the quarterback and his representative.

 

These are minor points but points of clarity. New England was able to trade Cassel. Carolina cannot trade Peppers — not until he has signed his franchise tender, which he has not.

 

And it’s hard to envision finding a team that would satisfy Peppers’ wishes and the Panthers’ asking price.