That was the risk they took in placing the franchise tag on Cassel Feb. 5.
They knew they had an asset that could be desirable to other clubs, and the question was what the market would bear. It turns out the market was not particularly strong for three main reasons: 1. There are only 32 starting quarterback spots and only a small handful of teams had openings; 2. Acquiring Cassel required a major financial commitment; 3. It also required trade compensation with a draft pick.
No doubt, this is going to be a tough sell to Patriots fans.
Cassel and linebacker Mike Vrabel to the Kansas City Chiefs for a high second-round draft choice (34th overall, No. 2 in the round) looks like a fleece job.
It isn't.
Part of the reason is that the Patriots had little leverage from the start. Interested teams knew that the Patriots weren't dealing from strength, as it doesn't take a salary-cap wizard to realize that no team can survive in today's NFL with two quarterbacks counting $29.27 million against the cap.
The Patriots needed to regain leverage by getting multiple teams into the bidding, and that's where this blackjack hand didn't work out as they hoped.
Outside of the Chiefs, there was little realistic action on the market.
Cassel alone for the 34th overall selection seemed like a fair deal, but Pioli knows all about leverage from his time with the Patriots. Getting Vrabel was shrewd work on his part.
The Patriots can't feel great about losing the 33-year-old Vrabel, a team leader who was entering the final year of his contract. Although his play declined a bit last season (down from 12 1/2 sacks to 4), he still played 87 percent of the team's snaps and the total return of what he brings to a team - versatility, toughness, locker room leadership - is valuable.
Yet, again, that was the risk the Patriots took in placing the franchise tag on Cassel.
The other choice was letting Cassel walk as an unrestricted free agent, while receiving nothing in return except for a compensatory draft choice in 2010 that could have been no higher than the end of the third round.
Or holding out hope for better trade compensation in an unlikely market shift.
