Former NFL quarterback and current ESPN analyst Ron Jaworski is unveiling his annual ranking of the NFL’s 32 starting quarterbacks, and the list started with Vikings quarterback Matt Cassel. And not because Cassel is the best.
Jaworski labeled Cassel the worst starter in the NFL.
“My 32nd rated quarterback entering the 2014 season is Matt Cassel,” Jaworski said on ESPN.
According to Jaworski, Cassel isn’t well suited to new Vikings offensive coordinator Norv Turner’s system because Turner needs a quarterback who effectively uses play-action passes, and Cassel doesn’t.
“Turner’s offense starts with the run game. With Adrian Peterson in the backfield, Cassel’s 66 quarterback rating last year on play-action passes just wasn’t good enough,” Jaworski said.
Jaworski hasn’t always been so down on Cassel; in 2008, when Cassel was filling in for Tom Brady as the Patriots’ starting quarterback, Jaworski praised Cassel as a “sure thing” and told NFL general managers they’d be wise to trade a first-round draft pick to acquire Cassel from New England. (The Chiefs ended up trading a second-round pick for Cassel.) But Jaworski is down on Cassel now.
The good news for the Vikings is that even if Jaworski is right, Cassel won’t be the starter in Minnesota for long. It’s just a matter of time before he loses the job to Teddy Bridgewater.