|
National Football League
Draft King Analysis
January 4, 2009
Lou Pickney, DraftKing.com
Reader feedback is always welcomed here. Send your thoughts to Draft King at LouPickney@gmail.com.
There are strong rumors that the New England Patriots will use its franchise tag to keep Matt Cassel on its roster. This could be done as a preemptive move to attempt to leverage Cassel into signing a moderate-length extension with the team, though if I was Cassel I'd sign the franchise offer the moment it came down on the table.
 | Matt Cassel is in for a huge payday in 2009. (Icon SMI)
|
|
The $15 million or so (the average of the top five QB salaries from 2008, whatever that is) would be instantly guaranteed to Cassel for one year of work. While the Patriots will have room to work under their cap even with Cassel and Brady tying up a large portion of the money under this scenario, it would be interesting to see how Cassel will play it.
This may not come as a surprise for some people, but Cassel being off the market (if the rumors hold true) makes it that much more likely for teams like the Lions and the Chiefs to look to the draft as opposed to free agency to fill their QB need, which might make a difference for guys like Matthew Stafford and Tim Tebow and Sam Bradford to decide on coming out. Time is ticking for them; if they want to come out early, they have to declare by January 15, though they can change their mind by January 18 provided that they haven't signed with an agent yet.
There are some who think that the Patriots could attempt to trade Cassel by using the franchise tag on him, but for some reason I think you're not allowed to do that. Perhaps I'm wrong, and I certainly welcome any insight from those of you out there who know the rules on it.
To the surprise of no one, Alabama OT Andre Smith (who missed the Crimson Tide's Sugar Bowl loss due to what has been alleged as improper contact with an agent) will be turning pro. I've felt for some time that he is the best offensive lineman prospect in the draft, and him going #1 overall to Detroit would not be a shocking thing to see at all.
True story from last night: I was watching the Indianapolis/San Diego game on NBC on my brother's 67" HDTV with my girlfriend when, as they were about to go to overtime, a transformer near the house blew up. Literally underneath it were my roommate Dustin, his girlfriend, and my brother's dog Titus. Luckily they escaped unharmed (save for Titus who is still skittish from the incident) but the transformer literally blew up and sent shrapnel and sparks reigning down on them. I joked later with my brother that the strain of showing Norv Turner up-close in HD caused a meltdown in the transformer, but whatever the cause (it wasn't storming here) it left us without power until nearly midnight.
Luckily, since I'm such a radio-centric guy, I had a battery-powered radio going right away to catch the call of overtime (including Dan Reeves with his somewhat charming drawl on color commentary) on 104.5 The Zone (WGFX). Only later in replays did I see Darren Sproles' dart into the end zone to give San Diego the win.
With the Chargers winning, teams in the #16-20 range (Jets, Bears, Bucs, Lions via Dallas) all have a vested interest in the Chargers making the Super Bowl, since that would vault San Diego from the #16 spot all the way to either #31 (if they lose) or #32 (if they win the Super Bowl) and allow each of them to move up one spot in the first round. Just something to keep in mind there.
NFL Draft Prospect Profiles
Draft King is owned and operated by Lou Pickney. Copyright © 2003-2025, all rights reserved. Information on this website should not be used for any gambling purposes, nor does it constitute any sort of advice, financial or otherwise.
| 