Pats Trade Matt Cassel to K.C.

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Placing a great deal of "stress" on QB Tom Brady's repaired knee, the New England Patriots shipped last year's replacement, Matt Cassel, off to Kansas City. Was that wise, without Brady taking a snap?

Not only that, New England got very little in return. They traded both Matt Cassel and outside LB Mike Vrabel to the Kansas City Chiefs for just a second round pick, 34th overall, in April's draft. Once again, why?

Matt Cassel had a QB rating of 89.4 last year, was 327 of 516 for 3693 yards, with 21 TDs and 11 INTs. As an SF 49er fan watching a QB merry-go-round, one has to wonder why they couldn't get more for Cassel. He has a strong arm as well, a big minus for the 49ers apparent starter, Shaun Hill. Cassel is also only 26.

Not that I would have wanted to 49ers to trade for Matt Cassel, mind you. Ahem.

Of course, Matt Cassel carried a huge price tag, as did Vrabel. Cassel had the franchise tag slapped on him by New England, and would have cost the Patriots $14.65 million if they kept him as insurance for Brady.

Is that it? Get rid of him because of the money? And they couldn't get higher than a 2nd rounder? The Pats aren't stupid, so I guess that's the case, but it still seems hard to believe they had to throw in Vrabel as well.