Eleven and five. After Tom Brady went down in the 1st quarter of the season with a season ending ACL tear, who would have ever thought that the Patriots would still go 11-5? Not most of us.

Pats fans all over had their hearts torn out when their “Golden Boy” (a.k.a. Brady) went down, but one player clearly had his head right. That player was QB Matt Cassel, who had not started a game since 1999 in high school! That’s right, 0 career starts at USC, and 0 in the NFL. And yet, Matt Cassel played like he had been starting for years.

The idea that Matt Cassel could lead this NFL franchise to an 11-5 record with literally close to no experience, was not even conceivable after he was almost cut and replaced by Matt Gutierrez during training camp. Cassel played like a champ this season. Sure, at the beginning he didn’t do so hot. He couldn’t make a deep pass (he still has trouble here) and he did not know how to run the Patriots 1st team at all, but by the end of the season, everyone saw that Cassel was a true NFL QB.

So now the real dilemma begins. Cassel has clearly proven himself starter-worthy of a QB job in the NFL, but at the same time, his contract with the Patriots runs out this year, and Cassel will be an unrestricted free agent after the playoffs are finally over. At the same time, ACL surgery is a big deal, and some people are never the same after. And the fact that Brady’s surgery was so called “botched” makes everyone more cautious. So the question is, what do you do with Matt Cassel?

The first possibility and most likely is that the Patriots place the franchise tag on him. “An ‘exclusive’ franchise player must be offered a one-year contract for an amount no less than the average of the top five salaries at the player’s position as of a date in April of the current year in which the tag will apply, or 120 percent of the player’s previous year’s salary, whichever is greater. Exclusive franchise players cannot negotiate with other teams.”

What this means is that by applying the tag to Cassel, the Patriots would hold his rights, and he would not be able to negotiate with other teams. They would hold onto Cassel until they see that Brady is 100% back and ready for action, and then decide from there, as lately there are rumors that Brady may not be ready by Week 1.
But, assuming Brady is indeed healthy, a possible trade to Detroit perhaps? Or anyone who would like a QB, since there are a lot of teams who need them (San Francisco, Chicago, Kansas City to name a few).

Either way, Cassel has proved himself to be an above-average NFL QB who is still pretty young; he can become a very talented player with the right coaching. I personally believe that Cassel will be with the Patriots when the season begins, and by Week 6, will be dealt to an under-achieving team with a major injury. I guess we can only wait and see.

Quote courtesy of NFL.com