Ever since being traded by the New England Patriots to the Kansas City Chiefs in 2009 with Mike Vrabel for a mere second round pick, Matt Cassel has had a series of doubters saying that it was a wasted trade. The Chiefs didn’t think so as they gave Cassel a massive six year $62.7 million contract that included $28 million in guaranteed money and paid him $40.5 million in the first three seasons.
Is it possible the Chiefs are now regretting that decision?
In his first three years in Kansas City, Cassel has failed to perform at the high level that his contract demands. In none of those seasons has he thrown for more than 3,200 yards and in two of them he has had injuries — not counting the appendectomy he needed during the 2010 season. Now new Chiefs head coach Romeo Crennel is hinting that the patience of team management may be wearing a little thin.
At a press conference during the NFL Combine this week, Crennel gave some tantalising clues as to the future of the Kansas City quarterback:
"“If it were not for Kyle (Orton), I would not be standing here, either, so I’m very appreciative of what he’s done. But until we get another quarterback on the team, Cassel is the guy. Now, if we get Kyle on the team — if he comes back to us — then we’ll see how it works out, and we’ll play the best guy. Until that time, it’s all speculation.”"
The fact that Crennel is even hinting that the Chiefs would be willing to have Orton as their starter despite the huge contract of Cassel speaks volumes. To put this into context, Crennel had this to say when asked what he learned during his first head coaching stint with the Cleveland Browns:
"“Try to avoid quarterback controversies for one.”"
Yet Crennel is actively stating the Chiefs interest in another quarterback. This was backed up by General Manager Scott Pioli:
"“We’ve talked to Kyle’s people. It sounds like Kyle would like to be with us. We’ve told Kyle we’d like to continue to work with him. Now it’s just a matter of seeing if things arrive at the right place.”"
Things get even worse for Cassel. The Chiefs were one of only four teams to interview top quarterback prospect Robert Griffin III during the combine.
The indications are pretty clear — the Kansas City Chiefs are looking for a quarterback. Matt Cassel will get his chance to retain his job but there is no guarantee that come week 1 we won’t see someone else behind center at Arrowhead.
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