Don't pass judgment on Cassel, Cutler deals

Matt Cassel and Jay Cutler are both 20-something quarterbacks who were recently traded, but the comparison pretty much ends there. They differ in skills. They differ in experience. And most important, they differ in contracts.

Yesterday’s trade that sent Cutler from the Denver Broncos to the Chicago Bears undoubtedly inspired many to reassess last month’s deal that sent Cassel from the Patriots to the Kansas City Chiefs. The Broncos got a hell of a lot more than the Patriots did. The Patriots gave up Cassel and linebacker Mike Vrabel for an early second-round pick (34th overall) in this year’s draft. The Broncos got a first-round pick this year (No. 18 overall), a third-round pick this year (No. 84 overall), and a first-round pick next year (no worse than No. 32) in exchange for Cutler and a fifth-round pick this year.

Oh, and the Broncos also got serviceable Kyle Orton, who might very well be their starting quarterback.

At this stage, we should agree on one thing: The Patriots don’t appear to have gotten maximum value for Cassel, a player who was one of the best stories in the NFL this year. At the same time, and at the risk of sounding like one of the many Belichicklets who deem it sacrilegious to view Bill Belichick’s decisions with an even slightly critical eye, there is so much more to the story.

For starters, inside the sports world or out, most every comparison is incongruous. We should start to wonder why we ever make such analogies at all. Decisions are best made on a case-by-case basis for the simple fact that things change. In this day and age, the world isn’t the same now as it was 10 minutes ago -- let alone 10 days or 10 weeks -- and there are countless factors to be weighed differently at different points in time.

But for whatever reason, we fear setting a precedent. We fear that the past will influence the future as if we have no bearing on its outcome.

In retrospect, did anyone in New England truly understand the franchise rule at all? From the very beginning of this process, the Patriots had very little leverage because Cassel was set to become an unrestricted free agent early this year. That Tom Brady went down with an injury, thereby opening a door for Cassel, was an enormous stroke of good fortune for the player, whose value on the open market increased every time he threw another touchdown pass. The better Cassel played, the more he had to gain -- and the more the Patriots had to lose.

Once Cassel became a commodity, the Patriots had two choices. They could let him walk and get nothing in return, or they could get whatever they could for someone who no longer would fit into their budget. They chose the latter. Their hope was that Cassel would cooperate with regard to a long-term contract, thereby increasing his value to both an acquiring team and the Patriots both.

Shrewdly, and undoubtedly at the suggestion of agent David Dunn -- regarded by some as the Scott Boras of his industry -- Cassel focused on what was best for him. Why should he help the Patriots? Why should he help anyone else? By accepting the franchise tag, Cassel assured himself of a guaranteed $14.6 million for one year. If he wants to go back out on the market after the 2009 season, he can, all before a 2010 campaign in which there may be no salary cap at all. Signing the franchise tender meant that Cassel could win now and later, and it might even allow him some choice as to where he gets to play.

For the Patriots, Cassel’s willingness to take the money was not a worst-case scenario. For them, a worst-case scenario would have been losing him for nothing at all. The obvious problem was that the Patriots now had a backup quarterback on a one-year contract for absurd dollars, and everyone knew they had to unload him. Free agency was beginning and the Patriots had much of their money tied up in a backup quarterback, which is like going to a clearance sale with your money locked up in a CD.

So the Pats liquidated, paying a penalty that was less than the interest already accrued. In their minds, they still made out on the deal. They were going to lose Cassel for nothing and they got the 34th pick instead.

Now, with regard to whether the Patriots might have gotten more for Cassel, that is a legitimate argument, but one that is not so simple. Within two weeks of trading Cassel to the Chiefs, the Patriots officially retained or acquired Chris Baker, Russ Hochstein, James Sanders, Shawn Springs, and Leigh Bodden, among others. (Fred Taylor officially was signed the day before the Cassel deal). Those players cost somewhere in the range of $14.5 million, which just happens to be the approximate value of Cassel’s 2009 cap number.

Yes, Vrabel’s money went in the deal, too. Yes, the Pats now have a seemingly glaring hole at linebacker. But they also added Greg Lewis and Joey Galloway at wide receiver, and they now have six of the first 97 picks in the draft thanks to the addition of compensatory selections driven largely by Asante Samuel’s departure.

Amid of all of this, Cutler was in the middle of a six-year deal worth roughly $48 million with the Denver Broncos, though much of that money was non-guaranteed. At the moment, Cutler still has three years left on his deal. His salary cap number for 2009 is reported to be slightly more than $1 million, which is roughly one-fourteenth of what the Chiefs must account for in Cassel. And the Patriots have already made it clear that the remaining $13 million can go a long way toward addressing other needs.

On top of all that, Cutler is signed through the 2011 season at similar cap numbers, meaning the Bears can get three seasons from Cutler for less than it will cost the Chiefs for one year of Cassel, though Cutler’s deal does include some sizable roster bonuses in the final years of the deal.

As for the theory that Cutler will now try to renegotiate, would that really be in his best interest after making such a childish stink about the way he was treated in Denver? Cutler claimed that he could never trust his coach in Denver, Josh McDaniels, who is suddenly swimming upstream. What is Cutler going to do now, hold out for more money from the Bears?

Again, there is every probability here that the Patriots got happy feet and unloaded Cassel earlier than they wanted to because he was tying their hands financially. By all accounts, it certainly seems as if New England overestimated Cassel’s value to other clubs, particularly when Vrabel also went in the deal. Pats fans who defended Belichick for insisting on veterans at the linebacker position cannot possibly defend him now for casting off Vrabel, especially if Vrabel’s replacement comes from the draft.

But to suggest that the Pats got robbed on Matt Cassel because the Broncos got more for Jay Cutler?

Please.

All things considered, the two had almost nothing to do with each other.