In this story on ESPN.com, Matt Cassel is quoted saying he would be happy to stay in New England as back-up to Tom Brady. Regardless of Cassel's boundless humility and noble intentions, that would be a terrible idea for everyone, except maybe the Patriots. Since I have no real fondness for the New England football team, that prospect doesn't trouble me, and honestly is it really worth $15 mil to keep a guy on the bench?
Aside from this season, Tom Brady has been one of the most consistent starters in the NFL since taking over for Bledsoe, and the Patriots could easily draft a new backup QB who would be much cheaper to keep than Cassel. Unless they really expect that someday Cassel will become the permanent starter, there's no reason to keep him on the roster at that price-tag.
Now, how would Cassel leaving the Patriots help the rest of us?
Imagine the 10th best quarterback in the league - by rating - sitting on the bench. Imagine that, while guys like Dan Orlovsky, J.T. O'Sullivan, Shaun Hill, JaMarcus Russel, Kyle Orton, Gus Frerotte are playing and starting throughout the league. In the interest of quality football, the Patriots should let Cassel go.
With the current state of quarterbacking in the NFL, we need Cassel. Some might say that he only succeeded because of the Patriots' system, but Cassel showed he is a starting-caliber quarterback, and most NFL teams run systems designed for quarterback success.
For whatever reason, there aren't 32 quality NFL quarterbacks in the world. Matt Cassel is one of the few we have, he deserves a starting shot and NFL fans deserve the possibility of decent football.
Friday, January 23, 2009
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