Matthew Brennan Cassel was born on May 17,1982 and is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League for 14 seasons.
56 Facts About Matt Cassel
2.
Matt Cassel played college football at USC and was selected by the Patriots in the seventh round of the 2005 NFL Draft.
3.
Matt Cassel began his career as a backup to Tom Brady until Brady suffered a season-ending injury in the first game of 2008.
4.
Matt Cassel was traded to the Chiefs the following year, where he played from 2009 to 2012.
5.
Matt Cassel was the starting first baseman on the Northridge baseball team that reached the finals of the 1994 Little League World Series.
6.
Matt Cassel attended Chatsworth High School and was a letterman, an all-city selection, and a standout in football, basketball, and baseball.
7.
Matt Cassel committed to play at USC before starting his senior year in high school.
8.
Matt Cassel had an appearance in the HBO Family program Freshman Year, a reality show in which his younger brother was one of the featured students.
9.
Matt Cassel saw limited time in three games in the 2001 season.
10.
Matt Cassel made his lone collegiate start at H-back against California in 2001.
11.
Matt Cassel was the backup for Palmer during his Heisman-winning 2002 season.
12.
Matt Cassel appeared in three games and completed three passes for 27 total yards.
13.
Matt Cassel had two saves with a 9.35 ERA, and was selected by the Oakland Athletics in the 36th round of the 2004 MLB Draft.
14.
Matt Cassel began the 2005 season third on the Patriots' depth chart behind Tom Brady and Doug Flutie, after beating out two more veteran quarterbacks, Chris Redman and Rohan Davey.
15.
Matt Cassel was on the 45-man active roster for all 16 games in 2006; when the Patriots brought in yet another Heisman winner, Vinny Testaverde, who acted as the emergency quarterback.
16.
Matt Cassel led a late touchdown drive in the regular-season finale against the Tennessee Titans.
17.
Matt Cassel remained in a backup role in the 2007 season.
18.
Matt Cassel made his first NFL start on Sunday, September 14,2008, with a winning effort over the New York Jets, completing 16 of 23 passes for 165 yards.
19.
Matt Cassel was voted AFC Offensive Player of the Week for his Week 7 performance against the Denver Broncos on Monday Night Football.
20.
Matt Cassel finished 30-for-51 passing, with 400 yards, 3 touchdowns, and no interceptions for a passer rating of 103.4, and 62 yards rushing on eight attempts.
21.
Matt Cassel became the first Patriot to throw for 300 yards and rush for 50 yards in the same game, and the first player since at least the AFL-NFL merger to have 400 passing yards and 60 rushing yards in the same game.
22.
Matt Cassel's efforts earned him the title of AFC Offensive Player of the Week for the second time.
23.
Matt Cassel, playing in snow for the first time ever, nevertheless completed 20 of 36 passes for 345 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions, while helping the Patriots remain in the hunt for the AFC East title.
24.
Matt Cassel completed 6 passes out of just 8 attempts, the third-lowest attempt total in franchise history.
25.
Matt Cassel finished the game with 78 yards; his most notable play was a quick kick punt on third down in the fourth quarter; with the wind at his back, Matt Cassel's kick landed inside the 20, and then rolled towards the Bills' end zone before it was downed, stranding the Bills at their own 2-yard line, struggling against the wind, down two scores with five minutes remaining.
26.
The Patriots made it official on February 5,2009, the first day of the 2009 franchise period, and Matt Cassel agreed to the tender two days later.
27.
Matt Cassel was expected to compete with Tyler Thigpen, who started 11 games for the Chiefs in 2008, for the starting quarterback position.
28.
Matt Cassel was dragged to the ground and grabbed for his knee immediately upon impact.
29.
Matt Cassel attempted to continue playing but called a timeout and limped off the field.
30.
Brodie Croyle started the final game of the preseason against the St Louis Rams as well as the regular season opening game against the Baltimore Ravens when Matt Cassel was still unable to play.
31.
Matt Cassel threw for 2,924 yards with 16 touchdowns and 16 interceptions and had a quarterback rating of 69.9 in his first season with the Chiefs.
32.
Matt Cassel completed 90 of 144 passes for 1,111 yards and an NFL-leading 12 touchdowns, with just one interception.
33.
Matt Cassel had a 111.2 passer rating for the month.
34.
Matt Cassel returned for the next two games however and led the Chiefs to landslide wins over both the St Louis Rams in the Governors Cup and then at home against the Tennessee Titans.
35.
In January 2011, Matt Cassel was named as an alternate to the Pro Bowl in place of an injured Tom Brady.
36.
Matt Cassel led the Chiefs to their first win against the Minnesota Vikings, where he threw for 260 yards and one touchdown.
37.
In Week 8, Matt Cassel threw one touchdown but threw two interceptions.
38.
In Week 10, Matt Cassel injured his hand against the Denver Broncos.
39.
In Week 1 of the 2012 season, Matt Cassel had a tremendous first half against the Atlanta Falcons but threw two interceptions in the second half.
40.
In that game, Matt Cassel left the game with a head injury.
41.
On October 11,2012, Crennel announced Matt Cassel had been ruled out of the Week 6 game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and named Brady Quinn the starter for the game.
42.
Matt Cassel was deemed healthy enough to play, but still given the backup role.
43.
On March 7,2014, it was reported that Matt Cassel had signed a new two-year deal for $10 million.
44.
However, on September 21,2014, Matt Cassel broke his foot against the New Orleans Saints and was placed on injured reserve.
45.
Matt Cassel was involved in a three-way quarterback competition between former Bills first round pick EJ Manuel and former Ravens backup Tyrod Taylor.
46.
Matt Cassel was credited as the Bills' starting quarterback for the season opener due to him taking the team's first snap on offense in the wildcat formation with Taylor lined up at wide receiver.
47.
Matt Cassel was never able to have any sustained offensive success and was prone to critical errors.
48.
The play was designed to be a wide receiver bubble screen, but Matt Cassel held onto the ball after a pump-fake, then turned to look at the other side of the field.
49.
On top of the intentional grounding call against Matt Cassel, there was an illegal lineman downfield call against Dallas, as several offensive linemen had run downfield to block for what they assumed was a quick screen pass to a receiver.
50.
Matt Cassel signed with the Tennessee Titans on March 10,2016.
51.
In Week 16, on Christmas Eve, against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Matt Cassel entered the game in the third quarter after starter Marcus Mariota suffered a leg injury.
52.
On March 2,2017, Matt Cassel signed a two-year, $5.25 million contract extension with the Titans.
53.
On March 9,2018, Matt Cassel was released by the Titans.
54.
Matt Cassel married his longtime girlfriend Lauren Killian, a former USC volleyball player, in February 2007; Carson Palmer was his best man.
55.
Matt Cassel has three siblings: older brother Jack, younger brother Justin, and younger sister Amanda.
56.
Matt Cassel, seeing smoke from the fire, ran to their house to alert them.