We understand this is a hyperactive era of sports consumption, both in terms of what we watch and what we read. We also understand there are reasons to be confident in Matt Cassel. But here’s the thing: Tom Brady is a three-time Super Bowl champion. He is arguably the greatest football player of our generation. And he is 31 years old. Why on earth would you ever trade him? Well, Dave Heuschkel of SI’s FanNation is glad you asked, even if Boston fans are not. He notes that the first-year stats for the two QBs are similar (though he doesn’t mention, as a commenter does, that Brady was throwing to a bunch of No. 3 receivers while Cassel is heaving the rock to Randy Moss, Wes Welker and Co.). Writes Heuschkel:

Matt Cassel has made Tom Brady an afterthought. Only time will tell whether Cassel makes Brady a 49er. Rain or snow, Cassel continues to shine. He has overcome adversity and adverse weather conditions the last two weeks in leading the Patriots to wins that have kept Bill Belichick’s team in the playoff hunt.

Cassel has impressed the not-easy-to-impress Belichick. But has he impressed the organization to the point where the Patriots would consider trading Brady? At 26, Cassel is five years younger than Brady and doesn’t have a fragile knee. Those are undeniable facts the Patriots will consider after the season.

Cassel is in the final year of his contract. The Patriots could let him go or slap the franchise tag on him trade him for a first-round draft pick. At this point, it’s uncertain what the Patriots will do with Cassel. But a part of me is wondering what they will do with Brady.

Sorry. If Brady was three years older or a couple Super Bowls lighter, we could maybe see the argument. But you don’t trade a transcendent player because his backup has had a nice season. You get what you can for Cassel (A first-round pick and Chester Taylor!?! … sorry, irrational Vikings fan approach), then you resume being the AFC’s top threat for another 4-6 years. End of story.

That said: Where does Brady rank on your list of NFL players you would never trade, on Dec. 22, 2008, no matter what came back in return?

This entry was posted on Monday, December 22nd, 2008 at 3:53 pm and is filed under Main. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.