ABOUT MATT CASSEL
Age: 31
NFL season: Ninth; New England (2005-08), Kansas City (2009-12), Vikings (2013).
College: Southern California (2001-04). Cassel was a backup to Heisman Trophy winners Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart, played briefly for the Trojans baseball team, and was drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the 36th round of the 2004 baseball draft.
Family: Wife Lauren is a former USC volleyball player. They have three children.
NFL draft: Seventh round, 230th overall, in 2005 by New England.
With the Patriots: After three seasons as a backup, Cassel started the final 15 games of 2008 because Tom Brady suffered a season-ending knee injury. The Patriots went 11-5 but did not make the playoffs.
With the Chiefs: The Patriots traded Cassel to Kansas City with linebacker Mike Vrabel for the 34th pick in the 2009 draft (safety Patrick Chung). Cassel took over as a starter immediately, and led the Chiefs to the playoffs and made the Pro Bowl in 2010. He was injured late in 2011, and replaced as a starter last season by Brady Quinn.
With the Vikings: Cassel signed a two-year, $7.4 million contract in March.
Did you know? Cassel is the only quarterback who has started in the NFL without having started a game in college.
