Matt Cassel’s Profile at Pro-Football-Reference

In mid-July of this year, Matt signed himself a front-loaded whopper of a deal.  Six-years, $63 million, $28 million of it guaranteed, and $40.5 million of it dedicated to the first three seasons.  The exact terms of the deal haven't been let out of the bag yet, but we're just as interested as you and will have them up as soon as possible.

2009 - Under Contract

2010 - Under Contract

2011 - Under Contract (+ $7.5 million option bonus)

2012 - Under Contract

2013 - Under Contract

2014 - Under Contract

2015 - Free Agent

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The Legend of Matt Cassel

By now, you probably know the story of Matt Cassel.  In case you don't, pull up a chair and gather round the fire as we recount the saga of the most patient quarterback in history... without taking a breath (because, well, we are not patient).

Cassel was backup to two Heisman Trophy winners in college (Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart) and only started one game (trivia question - what position was his one start at?), got drafted by the Belichick dynasty (not unlike the Ming dynasty of ancient China) and became the backup QB to Tom Bundchen in 2005, but then Bundchen went down with a nasty knee-injury in the 1^st game of '08, and in came Cassel who hadn't started a game at QB since high school.  The rest, well, is destined to become fantasy lore in the same vein of 2004's Drew Bennett.

Oh and the answer to the trivia question:  Halfback.

2008

Cassel was thrown to the wolves when Brady went down last year, and he did better than anyone would have expected.  He finished 8^th in the NFL in passing, 10^th in touchdowns, and 11^th in completion percentage.  Sure, he was playing in New England, where the coaches spy and the WRs are All-Pro, but Cassel now has to show that those numbers weren't a result of... THE RANDY FACTOR:

2009 Fantasy Outlook

Here's a quote from Chiefs WR2 Bobby Engram earlier this summer:  

"He's running the team and I'm very impressed.  He's a very sharp guy.  He's watching film, he's drawing up plays, he's coaching everybody up.  He's shown early on that we're going to be able to rely on him."

First year head coach Todd Haley runs a similar shotgun system that Cassel operated in New England and Cassel's numbers last year don't lie.  He can definitely play quarterback in the NFL... as long as he is chucking the ball to Randy Moss and Wes Welker.  We have much love for Dwayne Bowe, but he is no Moss.  And Engram has pieced together a decent career, but a Welker he is not. 

The Kansas City Chiefs have questions on the offensive line, RB, TE, and as mentioned, their #2 WR spot.  When it boils down to it, DwayneBowe is the only dependable thing the Chiefs have going on.  Larry Johnson reportedly is behaving himself for the first time since signing his enormous contract in 2007 due to the fact that the behavior clause in his contract kicked in (he allegedly assaulted yet another female in the off-season).  It remains to be seen whether he is a fit for Haley's offense.  Tony Gonzalez was traded, and Bobby Engram is 36-years old and won't do anything to discourage teams from doubling up on DwayneBowe.  

Cassel finished 8^th overall in a basic fantasy scoring format in 2008, and that was in a system in which he had studied under for three seasons while throwing the ball to two All-Pro WRs, one of which is named Randy.  Cassel has Derek Anderson written all over him.  We're steering clear of all the hype, but if Cassel is sitting there for you as a mid-tiered backup QB, we'd take a chance on him.  Make him the 20th QB off of the draft board this year.