"I have a long history with both players," Pioli, Kansas City's general manager, said in a statement yesterday. "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."
Details of the deal began to leak Friday, when Vrabel confirmed an NFL Network report that he had been traded to the Chiefs. It turned out that was just part of a larger trade between Bill Belichick and his former Patriots team-building partner that helped New England clear cap space and clear up any doubt as to its starting quarterback in 2009.
The Patriots put themselves in position to capitalize on Cassel's Cinderella season when they used the franchise tag on him Feb. 5, guaranteeing Cassel a one-year contract at $14.65 million.
The move prevented Cassel from becoming an unrestricted free agent, but it left the Patriots with $29.27 million of the $127 million salary cap committed to Cassel and Brady, virtually ensuring a trade.
Pioli had competition for Cassel from former Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, now coach of the Denver Broncos.
According to multiple NFL sources, McDaniels and the Broncos were considering a deal to get Cassel that would have involved Denver trading Pro Bowl quarterback Jay Cutler to Tampa Bay for a first-round pick (No. 19 overall) that then would have gone to New England for Cassel.
After Cassel's shaky exhibition season, few would have expected any team to give up a first- or a second-round pick in a deal involving the 26-year-old, a career backup dating to his college days at Southern California and a 2005 seventh-round pick who in three previous NFL seasons had thrown a total of 39 passes.
Everything changed Sept. 7, when just 15 offensive plays into the season Brady suffered a torn ACL and MCL in his left knee. Cassel took over on the next drive, and his first pass, which came on third and 11 from his 1, was a 51-yard completion to Randy Moss. He capped the drive with a scoring toss to Moss and led the Patriots to a 17-10 win.
The next week, Cassel made his first NFL start - his first start at quarterback since 1999 at Chatsworth (Calif.) High - and led the Patriots to a 19-10 road victory over the New York Jets.
