The Kansas City Chiefs acquired quarterback Matt Cassel and linebacker Mike Vrabel from the New England Patriots on Saturday in exchange for a second-round pick (34th overall) in the 2009 NFL Draft.
The agreement is contingent on both players reporting and passing their physicals.
Chiefs GM Scott Pioli, who was hired in January to oversee the team’s football operations after nine seasons in New England, orchestrated the deal for two of his former players.
"I have a long history with both players," Pioli said in a statement. "Mike and Matt are men that I respect both personally and professionally. I look forward to having them as new members of the Chiefs family."
Cassel, a seventh-round draft pick of the Patriots in 2005, was a career backup until a breakout season in 2008 in relief of the injured Tom Brady. Cassel saw the first significant action of his career, taking over as the starter for Brady in Week 2 and starting 15 games, completing 63.4 percent of his passes for 3,693 yards and 21 touchdowns with 11 interceptions.
He was designated as the Patriots’ franchise player on Feb. 5, guaranteeing him $14.65 million next season.
"It is very easy to root for guys like Matt Cassel, who do everything the right way and flourish as a result," Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said in a statment. "As much as we would have loved to continue working with Matt, we wish him nothing but the best as he takes this next step forward in his career."
The 33-year-old Vrabel spent the last eight seasons in New England, where he was a part of three Super Bowl-winning teams. He started 14 games last season, registering four sacks and an interception.
5 comments:
Congrats!! This is a tremendous upgrade for the Chiefs! I'll be watching to see what else Pioli puts together before pre-season.
It alt least FEELS like we have some hope now. Tyler Thigpen did a good job last year for the situation he was dealt. I hope he sticks around as a strong back-up. The Patriots have to be hating us right now. First we put Tom Brady out of commission, then we took Pioli away from them, now we have their up-and-coming quarterback and their multi-year pro bowl defensive guy.
You guys will be contenders in no time!
Brady was afraid the Cassell would hit on the new wifey and demanded Cassell's exile. Vrabel much as I love him is washed up.
If you have a talented but inexperienced linebacking group then Vrabel is a tremendous pickup. Really sorry to see him go. He was extremely popular in New England.
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