Getty Bill Belichick coached former Patriots quarterback Matt Cassel from 2005 to 2008.
Tom Brady will not be the only former New England Patriots quarterback in broadcasting on a national level.
Add Matt Cassel to that list as the former Patriots backup will join NBC Sports, which Andrew Marchand of the New York Post reported on Monday, June 5. Cassel will serve as an analyst for NBC’s Big Ten Conference primetime football coverage.
With the Patriots, Cassel backed up Brady for three seasons from 2005 to 2007. Then, Cassel got thrust into the starting role in 2008 when Brady went down with an ACL tear.
Cassel led the Patriots to an 11-5 record that season, but the team missed the playoffs. He threw for 3,693 yards and 21 touchdowns versus 11 interceptions.
His career meandered around the league after that year with stops in Kansas City, Minnesota, Buffalo, Dallas, Tennessee, and Detroit. Cassel finished his career after the 2018 season with 17,508 yards for 104 touchdowns versus 82 interceptions.
Before the NFL, Cassel played at USC from 2001 to 2004 as a backup to eventual NFL quarterbacks Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart. USC and rival UCLA notably will be joining the Big Ten.
Cassel’s Big Ten broadcast gig with NBC Sports isn’t his first. He previously worked with NBC Sports Boston and The 33rd Team.
As for Brady, his famed broadcast job with FOX will wait until 2024. Brady agreed to a 10-year, $375 million deal with FOX in 2022 for after his playing career ended.
He spent 20 seasons with the Patriots and led the team for six Super Bowl wins. Brady closed out his playing career with three seasons in Tampa Bay, which included a seventh Super Bowl win.
Matt Cassel Gave Mac Jones a Low Ranking
Cassel turned heads earlier in the offseason when he ranked Patriots quarterback Mac Jones as the No. 25-ranked signal caller in the league for The 33rd Team.
“There were a lot of ups and downs for Mac Jones this past season,” Cassel wrote. “I’m still unsure of what type of quarterback he can be. But we will certainly find out with new offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien returning to the New England Patriots this season.”
Jones didn’t impress in 2022 amid 2,997 yards passing for 14 touchdowns versus 11 interceptions. He had a much more promising rookie season in 2021 where he took the team to the playoffs.
How Jones will progress or regress in 2023 remains to be seen. Cassel notably has some idea of O’Brien’s coaching style from their time in New England together from 2007 to 2008.
Tom Brady Believes in Bill O’Brien
Brady also worked with O’Brien from 2007 to 2011, and Brady showed confidence in how O’Brien can make an impact.
“It’s hard to find good coaches in the NFL [and] Billy’s certainly one of them,” Brady told Yahoo Sports’ Jori Epstein. “He’s very talented, very smart.”
“Was a great addition to our team when he came in ’07,” Brady added.
O’Brien served as an offensive assistant that first year when Brady threw for 4,806 yards and 50 touchdowns. The Patriots went 16-0 that year with the second-highest scoring offense in NFL history.
Brady didn’t say specifically how he thinks Jones will do with O’Brien, Epstein noted.
“A lot of what’s going to happen in the NFL is going to be determined by what these guys do under pressure when it matters most and how they can continue to evolve and grow from this point on,” Brady told Epstein. “Everything evolves and changes so you’ve got to be adept with the circumstances that come with the NFL season.”
