According to several reports, the Kansas City Chiefs have a trade in place with the San Francisco 49ers that will allow them to acquire quarterback Alex Smith for a couple of draft picks once the new league year starts. The result of that trade will be release of quarterback Matt Cassel, who the Chiefs traded for back in 2009 when Scott Pioli was the general manager and Pittsburgh Steelers current offensive coordinator Todd Haley was the new head coach.
With Cassel expected to be a free agent, several in the fan base are trying to link Pittsburgh as a possible landing spot for Cassel because of his past association with Haley. It\’s a logical dot connecting as the Steelers certainly could use an experienced backup younger than both Charlie Batch and Byron Leftwich, both of who are set to be unrestricted free agents.
While the dots connect, however, the Steelers will certainly not be willing to pay Cassel much to come to Pittsburgh to work with his former head coach that rode him very hard in Kansas City. For all we know, Haley might not view Cassel in the same light that he once did after coaching him.
Cassel was set to earn $7.5 million in 2013, and despite his severely uneven play in the past, several other teams, with much more cap room available to them than the Steelers have, will also be looking at the 30 year old as a potential backup as well.
First and foremost, Cassel will be looking to see if there are any places that he can go to compete for the starting job. He certainly isn\’t going to get that opportunity in Pittsburgh.
So will Cassel end up reuniting with Haley in Pittsburgh? I would bet against that happening.
