Matt Cassel v. Kevin Kolb: Did the Patriots get ripped off?

by ctpatsfan77 on Jul 28, 2011 3:55 PM EDT

Today, the Philadelphia Eagles traded Kevin Kolb to the Arizona Cardinals for a second-round pick in the 2012 NFL Draft and cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie.

Two years ago, at the start of free agency, the Patriots traded Matt Cassel (and Mike Vrabel) to the Kansas City Chiefs for a second-round pick?

Who made out better: Philadelphia or New England?

Personally, I'd say it was about even.

The Eagles did get more than the Patriots did. This is obvious. in addition to a second-round pick in next year's draft, they also got a cornerback who was himself a first-round pick in 2008. Many Cardinals fans are looking at the trade as a rip-off . . . with them as the victims.

On the other hand, the Patriots have two things going for them:

The Eagles don't get their pick until next spring. Moreover, the value of that pick depends on how well Kolb performs in Arizona. If he leads them to the playoffs, then the best the Eagles can get is pick #53. The Patriots got their pick in the 2009 draft, the same year they traded Cassel, and it was the #34 pick overall. Given that Arizona plays in the pit of mediocre that is the NFC West, it is hard to see the Cardinals stinking up the joint badly enough to give the Eagles a pick above #40.

The Eagles paid a lot more for Kolb. Don't forget that Kevin Kolb was the #36 pick in the 2007 draft. In other words, the Eagles paid a second-round pick to get him in 2007, and are getting a second-round pick in return. Not only that, though, but in order to secure his rights through 2011, the Eagles had to pay him a $10 million signing bonus in 2010. That money isn't coming back.

On the other hand, the Patriots only needed to invest a seventh-round draft pick to land Cassel, and his entire four-year contract cost the Patriots less than $2 million. So, getting back the #34 pick for Cassel, even if they had to throw in Vrabel (admittedly, I think Bill Belichick would have preferred to give them Adalius Thomas, but the salary cap prohibited that move), is still very good value.

So, all in all, I'd call it a draw.

Poll

Which trade was better?

Eagles trading Kolb

92 votes

Patriots trading Cassel

56 votes

They both did equally well

56 votes

Both trades sucked equally

25 votes

229 votes | Poll has closed

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Comments

one reason the pats didnt get as much they didnt have any leverage

teams knew they had to trade cassel cause they franchised him to trade him they werent going to pay him franchise money to sit the bench. so teams knew they had to trade him. in my opinion.

by brady12mvp3 on Jul 28, 2011 4:10 PM EDT reply actions

That too.

The problem is that there really wasn’t any logical way to get Cassel under contract earlier.

No one could have foreseen 2008 turning out exactly as it did, and it’s rather hard to see what sort of contract the Patriots could have offered Cassel that (A) would have fit in their cap, and (B) would have made sense for Cassel.

by ctpatsfan77 on Jul 28, 2011 4:13 PM EDT up reply actions

the trade was a good one

and u know what 2008 was the perfect situation for cassel brady going down week 1 gave the league a view of cassel skills in the year he became a free agent. and i am glad it did because cassel rode the bench for 4 years in college paid his dues in nfl for 4 years so it worked out good for both the pats (chung) and cassel.

by brady12mvp3 on Jul 28, 2011 4:24 PM EDT up reply actions

oh and i think the cards got fleeced

they def overpaid in my opinion.

by brady12mvp3 on Jul 28, 2011 4:11 PM EDT reply actions

Well...

…Cards WAY overpaid and they were able to negotiate up Kolb’s contract. Cassel was sitting at the top of the cash heap already.

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by Richard Hill on Jul 28, 2011 9:16 PM EDT reply actions

Arizona's retarded they bid against them selves and got A.J. Feeley 2.0! yay!

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by Troy O on Jul 28, 2011 11:18 PM EDT reply actions

it looks to me as if you did

Cassell actually led the Pats to the playoffs. Kolb has…..played a couple good games..?

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by Gatorfan4life on Jul 28, 2011 11:26 PM EDT reply actions

And Kolb had excellent receivers to throw to in Philly

Keep the faith!

by Marima on Jul 28, 2011 11:53 PM EDT up reply actions

Cassel did not lead the Pats to the playoffs.

by UtopianAverage on Jul 29, 2011 12:28 AM EDT up reply actions

He did QB an 11-5 team.

I will say Zona definitely over-payed, so the Eagles probably made out a lot better than the Pats did.

EVH+DLR=BFFs........ God I Hope So!!

by dmstorm22 on Jul 29, 2011 3:04 AM EDT up reply actions

different situation

like i said earlier the pats leverage was comprimised by having to franchise cassel in order to train him teams knew they werent going to pay him like 14 million a season to sit on bench. it was the perfect storm for cassel.

by brady12mvp3 on Jul 29, 2011 7:47 AM EDT up reply actions

The question was who made out better. The Eagles did.

The circumstances make it easier to understand why the Pats didn’t get more, but at the end of the day, the Eagles made out better, by quite a bit.

EVH+DLR=BFFs........ God I Hope So!!

by dmstorm22 on Jul 29, 2011 8:36 AM EDT up reply actions

i agree on paper they did

as of today but cromartie could bust and we still dont know who they will pick with the draft pick they aquired. and what if kolb plays well.

by brady12mvp3 on Jul 29, 2011 9:09 AM EDT up reply actions

Hoodie might call in a return favour from Pioli some time in future.

Token southern hemisphere guy - 14,688km from Foxboro. That's 9128 miles, for you heathens.
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by Comedic.Sans on Jul 29, 2011 8:16 PM EDT up reply actions

Bill: “Can we please have Tamba Hali?”
Pioli: “Hell no!”
Bill: “Pretty please? We’ll give you Brandon Meriweather to go with your shiny Eric Berry in a trade, as well as a future 3rd!”
Pioli: “hm…. tempting. a 2 time pro bowler (BB snickers) who can work on his tackling and be our SS…. Well I suppose-”
Bill: “-Great! Its a deal. No backsies!”

I’ll take 11 players with heart on the field over 11 guys with just talent. Talent is fleeting, it goes away over time. Heart is what drives you to be better. To push yourself beyond what you think your capabilities are. To show us that when you strive, all things are possible.- SMP

by Jack'sAxe on Jul 30, 2011 6:22 PM EDT up reply actions

Hahaha

’Zactly!

Token southern hemisphere guy - 14,688km from Foxboro. That's 9128 miles, for you heathens.
Contributing Writer at PatsPulpit

by Comedic.Sans on Jul 31, 2011 2:10 AM EDT up reply actions

That's not clear until we know how high a pick they get.

IF Kolb DOES take AZ to the playoffs then that will impact the net value for the Eagles in two ways:

1) It means they gave up more (a playoff starting QB instead of a backup QB).
2) The 2012 pick will be buried deep in the 2nd round.

In terms of net value, I would not characterize that as obviously better than the net value that the Patriots realized in the Cassell deal unless Cromartie ends up looking like this year’s McCourty.

Remember, Cassell was basically found money. And there was no way they could keep either Cassell or Vrabel. So they gave away two players they couldn’t keep in exchange for pick #34 in that year’s draft.

In terms of net value, that looks like a pretty big win. I’m not going to say that the Eagles won’t realize more. But it’s not obvious yet that they will.

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by mmmmm on Aug 1, 2011 5:24 PM EDT up reply actions

haha you think i would remember that

but he QB’ed a good team

GO:Gators, Dolphins, Heat, Marlins, and Yankees
he who fears losing, has already lost
Josh Johnson for 2011 NL Cy Young!
Baseball Season Has Arrived, all is right with the world...

by Gatorfan4life on Jul 29, 2011 9:54 AM EDT up reply actions

cassel never led the pats to the playoffs

he should have they won 11 games but missed the playoffs that year.

by brady12mvp3 on Jul 29, 2011 7:46 AM EDT up reply actions

The cost of investment to return on investment....Pats are the clear winner.

Now, if you are talking about who got the better QB (ARZ / KC)….KC got a WAY better QB (IMO) and gave up ‘less’ then ARZ for the deal. However, you have to factor in Pats turned a 7th rounder in for a 2nd rounder, while PHI traded a 2nd for a 2nd. It is either a wash…or the Pats got the better deal (based on what the Pats had invested in Cassel vs what PHI had invested in Kolb).

As a Chiefs fan I can not thank the Pats enough for Scott Pioli, Matt Cassel and Mike Vrabel. Cassel will be our QB for the near to distant future (and I am A-OK with that) and Vrabel helped our team out a LOT of the last two season…both on the field and by coaching our young LB’s. Then there is Pioli….the man who took a 2-14 team to the playoff in 2 years and in the process set a Chiefs record for improvement year over year. THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH.

The Pats leadership, players, and fans are a ‘class act’ all around, and I look forward to playing (crushing) your team in the playoffs this year!. lol :-)

by DivineGrace on Jul 31, 2011 7:11 AM EDT reply actions

I'm glad the Chiefs have returned to relevance. You guys have a great fanbase and deserve no less.

Tell you what. You guys focus on beating the Bolts, Broncos, and Raiders and we’ll do the same with the Phins, Jets, and Bills.

See you in the playoffs where anything can happen!

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Some people can learn from the mistakes of others, while some people need to pee on the electric fence themselves.

by SlotMachinePlayer on Jul 31, 2011 10:20 AM EDT up reply actions

Sounds like a good deal to me...sign us up!

by DivineGrace on Aug 1, 2011 3:07 AM EDT up reply actions

In a similar way, it's also good that the Raiders have as well.

They are, imo, one of the Big-4 teams in teh NFL, the teams that have a following across the country, along with the Packers, Cowboys and Steelers. The Raiders following might actually be a lot bigger outside Oakland, since Oakland itself isn’t that big.

(I should say that I am a Raider fan as well as a Colts fan – SBs version of Jack Axe – who I believe is the Raiders/Patriots fan).

Their long run of abhorrent play (4-12, 5-11, 4-12, 2-14, 4-12, 5-11, 5-11) is finally over. The NFL is more fun when the Raiders are good.

EVH+DLR=BFFs........ God I Hope So!!

by dmstorm22 on Aug 1, 2011 5:53 AM EDT up reply actions