Matt Cassel

[dead_poet]

You have a great point there. He can now shop himself around and see if he can get more money out of someone else or even us. With our QB situation being so bad he's probably thinking we'll throw a better contract at him. The Vikings QB situation Just got even more interesting. Man would I love to be a fly on the wall at HQ over the next couple of months.

It's still surprising he thinks he might be able to get more than $3.7 million and a chance to start for a team, but it's possible. It's certainly a gamble. He'd be one of the better free agent QBs out there (which isn't saying much).

[S197]

His contract was basically structured to be a backup. If he's going to see considerable playing time, it makes sense to opt out and go for a new deal.

[NDVikeFan]

Let him go and just move on. It's not like he is taking us to a Super Bowl.

[Mothman]

It's still surprising he thinks he might be able to get more than $3.7 million and a chance to start for a team, but it's possible. It's certainly a gamble. He'd be one of the better free agent QBs out there (which isn't saying much).

He might be seeking the stability of a multi-year contract rather than just more than money.

It's also possible that he's been told he won't have a chance to start for the Vikings or that, at best, he'd be a 1/2 to 1 season stopgap. He might be seeking an opportunity to be more than that. I'm speculating, of course, but we don't know how Zimmer and his staff have assessed the Vikings QBs or what Spielman and the new coaching staff have planned for the position going forward.

It's difficult to project what Cassel's stats might have been if he had played all season last year because he started 6 games, played the majority of another (Chicago) and made a few relief appearances (Seattle and the Washington). However, a rough estimate that just doubles his numbers would put him at 3600 yards, 22 TDs and 18 interceptions, 32 sacks, a completion percentage around 60% and an average per attempt of 7 yards. Overall, those certainly aren't awful numbers but the INT rate is pretty high and percentage-wise, it's comparable to his last two seasons in KC, so it doesn't appear to be a one year anomaly either.

In other words, maybe the Vikes think he's too turnover-prone to seriously consider as more than a temporary starter.

[smoothoperator]

good. we dont need or want him, he will not lead us to anything. he is a weak, noodle armed qb who is mediocre at best. id rather us roll with freeman and draft someone.

[frosted]

I feel like they are going to try to bring Freeman back.

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[Mothman]

good. we dont need or want him, he will not lead us to anything. he is a weak, noodle armed qb who is mediocre at best. id rather us roll with freeman and draft someone.

I doubt they're going to roll with Freeman either:

http://espn.go.com/blog/minnesota-vikin ... sh-freeman

[smoothoperator]

I doubt they're going to roll with Freeman either:

http://espn.go.com/blog/minnesota-vikin ... sh-freeman

ive seen reports on both sides of the freeman situation, so i dont buy into everything i read. my guess is spielman told freeman frazier was a goner and he would get his shot this upcoming season. spielman loved freeman in his draft class and wanted to sign him to a 2-3 year deal initially.

[Mothman]

ive seen reports on both sides of the freeman situation, so i dont buy into everything i read. my guess is spielman told freeman frazier was a goner and he would get his shot this upcoming season. spielman loved freeman in his draft class and wanted to sign him to a 2-3 year deal initially.

That's possible. There are a lot of factors at play here and nobody knows what will happen so I'm not completely ruling anything out.

In addition to Freeman's own feelings on the matter (after all, as a free agent, he'll be able to go to any team that wants him) I suspect Zimmer's view, and that of his staff, will have a great deal to do with the decision. Regardless of how much Spielman may like Freeman, I hope he doesn't intend to saddle his new coaching staff with a QB they may not want. I doubt he does, so I also doubt he promised Freeman during last season that he'd get his shot to start this year. On the other hand, if Zimmer, Turner like Freeman's game and want him on the team, maybe he really will get his shot.

It's going to be very interesting to see what develops once free agency begins.

[Funkytown]

Ugh. Our mess just got messier.

Poop.

[smoothoperator]

That's possible. There are a lot of factors at play here and nobody knows what will happen so I'm not completely ruling anything out.

In addition to Freeman's own feelings on the matter (after all, as a free agent, he'll be able to go to any team that wants him) I suspect Zimmer's view, and that of his staff, will have a great deal to do with the decision. Regardless of how much Spielman may like Freeman, I hope he doesn't intend to saddle his new coaching staff with a QB they may not want. I doubt he does, so I also doubt he promised Freeman during last season that he'd get his shot to start this year. On the other hand, if Zimmer, Turner like Freeman's game and want him on the team, maybe he really will get his shot.

It's going to be very interesting to see what develops once free agency begins.

exactly. there are a lot of factors and now with cassel gone, we cant just let qbs keep slipping away or we will have ponder and a rookie, exactly what we dont need.

[Mothman]

exactly. there are a lot of factors and now with cassel gone, we cant just let qbs keep slipping away or we will have ponder and a rookie, exactly what we dont need.

I really don't think it makes that much difference. The Vikings 4 worst games in terms of point production last year came with Cassel or Freeman at QB.

Most Vikes fans feel Ponder has played his way off the team. Whether he actually ends up off the team or not, the perception is clearly that he should go. Well, Freeman and Cassel are both QBs that have already played their way off teams, and for reasons not unlike those that have led to Ponder's situation. Each of those 3 players has different strengths and weaknesses and both Freeman and Cassel have had better single seasons in their careers than Ponder has had in his short career but at almost 32 years old, Cassel is pretty clearly a journeyman and at this point in his career, Freeman looks like every bit the rehab job Ponder would be...

I don't think Freeman and a rookie or Cassel and a rookie are necessarily more appealing options than Ponder and a rookie (except the other two would mean less complaining about Ponder!). In all 3 scenarios, it's the rookie who would probably provide the best hope for the future. I doubt Freeman, Cassel or Ponder is going to lead the team to glory and if one of them does... well, that would be a welcome surprise.

[Purple bruise]

I really don't think it makes that much difference. The Vikings 4 worst games in terms of point production last year came with Cassel or Freeman at QB.

Most Vikes fans feel Ponder has played his way off the team. Whether he actually ends up off the team or not, the perception is clearly that he should go. Well, Freeman and Cassel are both QBs that have already played their way off teams, and for reasons not unlike those that have led to Ponder's situation. Each of those 3 players has different strengths and weaknesses and both Freeman and Cassel have had better single seasons in their careers than Ponder has had in his short career but at almost 32 years old, Cassel is pretty clearly a journeyman and at this point in his career, Freeman looks like every bit the rehab job Ponder would be...

I don't think Freeman and a rookie or Cassel and a rookie are necessarily more appealing options than Ponder and a rookie (except the other two would mean less complaining about Ponder!). In all 3 scenarios, it's the rookie who would probably provide the best hope for the future. I doubt Freeman, Cassel or Ponder is going to lead the team to glory and if one of them does... well, that would be a welcome surprise.

Good points Jim. I think that the Vikings will bring in another veteran QB (through a trade), draft a rookie, and dare I say keep Ponder through camp to see if the new OC and better coaching might help him out. As far as King Cassell, good riddance to an older journeyman QB that is way past any prime that he may have had.

[Mothman]

With Cassel playing since the game in London, we would have at the least been in the hunt for the Division crown of the NFC North, also it was good to know what winning was again, he passed with authority, chalked up a number of wins which his competitors did not do.

Meanwhile, the rest of their team just sat and watched, right?

I apologize, but I'm going to beat a dead horse here...

They lost or tied 4 games Ponder started by blowing leads in the final minute of the game. They would have lost the Bears game in Minnesota if Gould had connected on an OT field goal attempt from a distance where he's usually good. They lost the Baltimore game despite a huge offensive outburst in the final two minutes and they could easily have been forced into OT by the Steelers if the defense hadn't actually stopped Pittsburgh inside the 10 yard line in the final minute of that game.

They beat the Lions 14-13 in the last game of the season, the only game all season in which the defense held an opponent to less than 20 points and yet, despite all of the above, Cassel chalked up wins? He was the difference between winning and losing?

Cassel definitely helped them win some games but the team just wasn't good enough as a whole to put together a better record than they did. They blew too many leads, gave up too many points and had too many breakdowns on offense, defense and special teams. Defense and special teams performance had as much to do with which games they won as who played QB did.

[Purple bruise]

Good to know what a W was with Cassel, what was with the Vikings coming close to the records for least possession time in some of our games??

Cassel's only 31, 32, compare that to Cunningham, Favre, Moon who all had good years with the Vikings. In fact, per Manning, Brady, some of the top QBs are 5 years older than Cassel.

I'm sure the Vikings will fess up and pay more than a backup salary to Cassel, Freeman got one million for only playing one game.

Slam dunk with Zimmer and Norv, Cassel will be back, they know football.

I would not draw comparisons with Cunningham, Favre, or Moon with Cassell. They were all 10 times better QBs than the King.

I guess that you read/heard this:
Ian Rapoport @RapSheet
#Vikings QB Matt Cassel will void his contract for 2014 and become a free agent, per source. Was to make $3.7M, had until Friday to do it