NBC Sports.com's Tom Curran reported this morning that the New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady's rehabilitation from knee surgery is behind schedule and that the team should consider retaining Matt Cassel to guard against Brady missing the entire 2009 season.
Curran mentions the infection that Brady suffered in early October as the reason why his progress is behind schedule, as it took six weeks of "antibiotics and surgical irrigation" to clear the infected area. Curran reports that while the infection is clear, the ACL and MCL are "loose", which won't go away without a second procedure that would wipe out Brady's 2009 season. Brady has developed scar tissue within the knee that may require further surgery, as well.
Cassel has played well in place of Brady, throwing for over 3,500 yards and 20 touchdowns. With his contract up after the season, Cassel figures to get a monstrous raise over the $520,000 he's earning this season.
New England has the option of placing the franchise tag on Cassel, but that move would cost upwards of $12 million dollars. Combined with Brady's $14.62M cap number, nearly 20% of New England's 2009 salary cap would be tied into two quarterbacks.
Another possibility is that the Patriots allow Cassel to leave via free agency and see if Kevin O'Connell, Matt Gutierrez or a rookie draft pick (New England has a pair of 2nd round draft picks) can step in and duplicate the unexpected performance Cassel turned in this season.
