Matt Cassel speculation in Boston is reaching a fevered pitch after the career backup turned star received notification New England would place the franchise tag on him Thursday and then reportedly faxed a letter to the team Saturday accepting terms of the $14.65 million, one-year contract.
Hey, who wouldn't go for a $14 million raise in a heartbeat? Cassel might be the player most overjoyed by being tagged--ever. No one could blame him.
But it puts the Patriots in a situation where their salary cap of $123 million will be weighted down by $29.27 million committed to two players--Cassel and fellow quarterback Tom Brady. That's 23.7 percent of the cap in two players, and only one of them can play at a time.
Brady's returning from multiple knee surgeries and the wait is on to see what the next move is. Some believe Cassel will be traded. Some believe he's there to stay as insurance. The excellent blog run by Mike Reiss over at the Boston Globe touches all the bases.
