History is an educational tool.
Those who ignore it and don’t learn from it are doomed to repeat it.
That brings us to New England Patriots backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo and what the Browns should – or shouldn’t do – in their pursuit of him. That is, if there even turns out to be a pursuit of him. Remember, he belongs to the Patriots until the end of the 2017 season. If they decide to re-sign him between now and then, then this is all a moot point.
But, as I said in my last post, neither the Browns nor anyone else can control what the Patriots do about Garoppolo. They can only concern themselves with … well, themselves.
So if I were running the Browns, I would first get rid of the words “CLEVELAND” and “BROWNS” off their uniforms so they didn’t look like they belonged to a high school team. After basking in the glow of that decision for a few minutes, I would then turn my attention to Garoppolo and would, from the very beginning, be very discriminating – almost negative — in my evaluation of him.
Why? Because when I look at Garoppolo, I see Matt Cassel. Through and through and through, I see Matt Cassel.
You remember Cassel, don’t you? He is the quarterback who played only sparingly at Southern Cal a little over a decade ago but still was a seventh-round pick, at No. 230 overall, of the Patriots in the 2005 NFL Draft. He continued to pretty much sit on the bench, backing up some guy named Tom Brady, for his first three years in New England, completing 22 of 39 passes for 250 yards and two touchdowns, with two interceptions, for a quarterback rating of just 71.53.
In short, he was barely hanging onto his roster spot.
But as fate would have it, Cassel got his chance under unfortunate – and disastrous for the Patriots – circumstances when Brady suffered a season-ending knee injury in the first quarter of the 2008 season opener against the Kansas City Chiefs. Cassel took full advantage of it, completing 327 of 516 passes for 3,693 yards and 21 touchdowns, with 11 interceptions, for an 89.4 rating. He even rushed for two TDs. He led the Pats to an 11-5 record, but while it was good, it was not good enough to get them into the playoffs.
Cassel was a red-hot commodity for quarterback-starved teams following that 2008 season, and ultra-savvy Patriots head coach Bill Belichick seized upon it by trading Cassel, along with linebacker Mike Vrabel from Walsh Jesuit High School in Cuyahoga Falls and Ohio State, to the Chiefs, the team that gave Cassel his chance in the first place by knocking out Brady for the season.
In return, Kansas City surrendered the No. 34 overall selection in the 2009 NFL Draft. Before the 2009 season started, the Chiefs bought in totally to Cassel, both literally and figuratively, by signing him to a six-year, $62.7 million contract that included a signing bonus – guaranteed money — of $28 million. His total compensation for the first three years was $40.5 million.
Cassel’s first year with the Chiefs did not go well for either him or them, as, after suffering a knee injury in the preseason but playing through it, he threw for 16 scores, with 16 picks, for a 69.9 rating in a 4-12 finish.
The 2010 season went much better in both respects, with a healthy Cassel making the Pro Bowl after throwing for 27 TDs with seven interceptions for a 93.0 rating as the Chiefs went 10-6 and won the AFC West. But they got crushed 30-7 by the Baltimore Ravens in the wild-card round.
That was the beginning of the end for Cassel. He spent two more years with Kansas City and since then has been with the Minnesota Vikings, Dallas Cowboys, Buffalo Bills and Tennessee Titans, with whom he spent the 2016 season, starting just one game.
He’s a rich man because he got a king’s ransom from the Chiefs and has spent 12 seasons in the NFL. He will never have to work another day in his life.
But the Chiefs did not get anything close to value in what they paid for Cassel. More specifically, they got fleeced by Belichick, who probably had to keep from laughing as he made the trade.
Now Belichick is trying to repeat history and use another team has his chump. The Browns can’t let themselves fall prey to that. They should stay as far away from Belichick, Garoppolo and any trade talk with the Patriots as they can get. And if I were calling the shots for the Browns, I would make sure that happened.
If Belichick wanted to talk about the Browns’ second pick in the second round, at No. 52 overall, as the compensation for Garoppolo, then I might listen to him. But in the end, I would decide against it. In my mind, that pick is worth more to the Browns.
In a nutshell, that’s what I would do if I were running the Browns because I study – and so respect — history.
But let’s see what the guys who are actually running the Browns decide to do.
