Kansas City Interested in Cassel?

The field at Raymond James Stadium has barely cooled from the fourth-quarter scorching it received in Super Bowl XLIII as the Arizona Cardinals fell short to the Pittsburgh Steelers in a see-saw battle Sunday, but we are wasting no time shifting gears into the offseason. And with that comes our first rumor of the offseason, which has New England Patriots quarterback Matt Cassel rejoining former boss Scott Pioli, who is now general manager of the Kansas City Chiefs.

That connection between the two clubs has led to speculation by the Boston Herald that Cassel could eventually wind up as the quarterback Pioli chooses to build around.

There has been a lot of talk about the Patriots slapping the franchise tag on the guy who will become a backup once Tom Brady returns to the lineup. And that's a distinct possibility. Regardless of how they handle it, though, they're sure to try and get something in return instead of allowing him to walk as a free agent. It's also hard to imagine that if they do franchise him they won't try to move him. Top five salary for a quarterback is just too much to carry for a guy who most likely would sit on the bench.

The Herald's Karen Guregian quotes Sirius NFL radio analyst Jim Miller, who had good reasons for his speculation on the topic.

"I'd really look at Pioli down there in Kansas City. Why wouldn't he want him? He knows what the kid is capable of doing. So I think he'd be on their radar... If Kansas (City) were to make that deal, that's their Matt Ryan. That's their Joe Flacco. Unlike a [Mark] Sanchez, for instance, they know he's playing at a starter's level. So to them, I think it'd be worth it to do. They'd get their starting quarterback, they know what he's capable of doing, and they've seen him win games at the NFL level."

Some feel that Tyler Thigpen earned an opportunity in 2008 to prove he's the Chiefs' quarterback of the future, but with a new regime in place it's very possible they will want to go in a different direction. Pioli is widely regarded as one of the best talent evaluators in the league, so it all comes down to how he views Thigpen versus Cassel versus perhaps a Mark Sanchez or Matthew Stafford in the draft.

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