After trading for Matt Cassel, the Bills were praised for bringing in a veteran quarterback on a low-risk move. Still, not many were ready to anoint Cassel as the future of the franchise at the most important position.
Now it looks like the team will be expected to sign Cassel to a multi-year contract that could entrench him as the starter in Buffalo beyond 2015, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter). The team made a similar move after trading for running back LeSean McCoy, guaranteeing him $26.5MM to play with the Bills.
Cassel won’t sniff that kind of money, but any extension at all seems like a curious decision (via Twitter). Mike Rodak, who covers the Bills for ESPN, was particularly critical in analyzing the possible reasons and structures for an extension. The Bills owe Cassel a $500,000 roster bonus next weekend, but after that nothing would have been guaranteed (via Twitter).
Rodak writes that converting $4MM of his base salary into a signing bonus would only clear out $2MM in cap space but would guarantee him $4MM for 2016 (via Twitter). He adds that Cassel would be unwise to take a pay cut without getting more guaranteed money, and that the Bills would have no reason to give him any guaranteed money (via Twitter). Rodak would be more afraid of wasting money on a quarterback like Cassel than him exceeding expectations and demanding a big raise (via Twitter).