Matt Cassel won’t be a Chief for much longer, but the question in Kansas City is whether the team can get anything for the quarterback.
NFL Network reports that the Chiefs are trying to trade Cassel, who became expendable when the Chiefs formally acquired Alex Smith in a trade with the 49ers. As we noted yesterday, the Vikings, Buccaneers and Cardinals have all shown some interest in Cassel, and it’s possible that one of them would give up a late-round pick to acquire him.
Of course, no team would be willing to give up anything for Cassel unless they first work out an agreement to dramatically reduce the $7.5 million base salary on the contract that the Chiefs signed him to when they decided to overpay him after one good year with the Patriots. And the teams interested in Cassel may just figure they can hold off on offering anything for him in a trade because he’ll become a free agent at some point this offseason, as the Chiefs are obviously going to cut him.
So, while Andy Reid was a master at trading backup quarterbacks in Philadelphia, he probably won’t be able to repeat that feat in Kansas City.
And, according to NFL Network, if the Chiefs don’t find any takers in a trade, they could cut him as soon as today.