SAN JOSE, Calif. - After leaving the team for a day because of the death of his father, Patriots quarterback Matt Cassel rejoined his teammates yesterday and practiced, a sign he is preparing to play Sunday against the Oakland Raiders.
Cassel returned home to Southern California Wednesday to help his family make arrangements for the funeral of his father, Greg, a former Hollywood script writer whose body was found Tuesday night in a San Bernardino mobile home. He was 57.
The funeral is Tuesday, the Patriots' usual offday, in Mission Hills, north of Los Angeles. It had originally been scheduled for Monday in Granada Hills. The timing would allow Cassel to play against the Raiders Sunday and still attend his father's service.
Cassel arrived at San Jose State University, where the Patriots are practicing this week, on the first bus from the team's Silicon Valley hotel. He did not speak with the media.
Cassel's teammates were happy to see him and seemed to hint that they expected him to play.
"Yeah, it's good to have him back after what happened to him," said left guard Logan Mankins. "I'm sure it's tough on him now. I'm sure he's going to fight through it and have a good week."
Sensitive to Cassel's situation, teammates pledged to do whatever they could to help their bereaved quarterback.
"Maybe being around the guys might ease [things] a bit," said fullback Heath Evans. "I don't know that for a fact. I know I just kind of wanted to wrap my arms around him [yesterday] morning and tell him I loved him. At this time, that's about the only thing you know to do. Hopefully, we can be of some encouragement to him and see how that helps him out."
Nose tackle Vince Wilfork, whose parents died in 2002 while he was at the University of Miami, sent Cassel a text message to let him know he was sorry for his loss and that he was there for Cassel if he wanted to talk.
"I've been through a similar situation with both of my parents, and I basically kind of left him alone," said Wilfork. "He thanked me for sending the message. I was just like, 'Hey, I'm here if you need me. I know what you're going through.' Some people handle it differently. He knows that he has a bunch of guys, brothers, on this team that are there for him with open arms. However he wants to express himself, he can do that. He knows he has [our support]."
Mankins, who spoke with Cassel as well, said he just let the quarterback know that "if he needs anything from anyone on the team, there are a lot of guys here for him."
Returning to the routine of preparing to play a football game could be cathartic for Cassel, a welcome distraction.
"Well, I think it will be good for Matt [to be around the team]," linebacker Mike Vrabel said. "We've got a support staff in there, and hopefully he can lean on his teammates."