Matt Cassel Matthew Brennan Cassel ( born May 17 , 1982 ) is an American football quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League . He played college football for the University of Southern California ( USC ) , and was drafted by the New England Patriots in the seventh round of the 2005 NFL Draft . He became the Patriots ' starting quarterback after Week 1 of the 2008 season after then reigning NFL MVP Tom Brady suffered a season - ending knee injury . According to ESPN research , he is the only known quarterback in NFL history to start an NFL game at quarterback without ever starting at quarterback in college . In February 2009 , the Patriots used their franchise tag on Cassel , extending him a one - year contract worth over $ 14 million , the largest one - year contract for an offensive player in NFL history . Later that offseason , the Patriots made a trade which sent Cassel to the Kansas City Chiefs , who signed him to a 6 year , $ 62 . 7 million contract in July 2009 . In 2010 , Cassel led the Chiefs to their first division title in seven years , and earned a Pro Bowl berth in the process . Early years . Cassel was born in Northridge , Los Angeles , California . When Cassel was 11 years old , his family home was at the epicenter of the 1994 Northridge earthquake , which at one point trapped his father Greg under a marble column and led water from their swimming pool to flood their house . Their home was eventually condemned as a result , forcing the Cassel family to move . Cassel was the starting first baseman on the Northridge baseball team that reached the finals of the 1994 Little League World Series . Cassel attended Chatsworth High School and was a letterman , an all - city selection , and a standout in both football and baseball . As a senior , he was ranked as the number eight quarterback and number 53 overall of the top high school players in the nation according to ESPN ' s Tom Lemming ' s Top 100 . Lemming called Cassel a " pro - style pocket passer with a very strong , accurate delivery . " In addition to playing quarterback , Cassel was also Chatsworth ' s punter . Cassel committed to play at USC before starting his senior year in high school . Cassel also had an appearance in the HBO Family program " Freshman Year " , a reality show in which his younger brother was one of the featured students . College career . Cassel spent his entire Trojan career as a backup behind Heisman Trophy winners Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart . Cassel was the backup for Palmer during his Heisman - winning 2002 season . In the fall , Cassel lost the battle for the starting position to the previous third - string quarterback in Leinart . As a result of Leinart ' s success , Cassel spent time at tight end and wide receiver in 2003 , and some special teams that year . He started at H - back against California in 2001 as well , making his lone collegiate start at that position . During his four seasons there , Cassel completed 19 of 33 passes for 192 yards , with no touchdowns and one interception . Cassel , a communication major at USC , was also roommates with current Pittsburgh Steelers safety Troy Polamalu and Carson Palmer . Cassel played one season of baseball for USC in 2004 , he had an 0 – 1 record with 10 strikeouts and 4 walks , he played in 8 games and started 1 . Cassel struck out in his only at bat in college . He also had 2 saves with a 9 . 35 ERA , and was selected by the Oakland Athletics in the 36th round of the 2004 MLB Draft . Statistics . < / table > Professional career . New England Patriots . Despite having had little chance to demonstrate his skills in actual game situations at USC , Cassel earned himself a place on several NFL teams ' draft boards after working out at USC ' s 2005 Pro Day . One of Cassel ' s coaches , Norm Chow , who had left USC to become the offensive coordinator for the Tennessee Titans , had discussed signing Cassel as an undrafted free agent after the 2005 NFL Draft ; Chow was surprised to learn the Patriots had drafted Cassel in the seventh round , with the 230th overall pick , ahead of more accomplished college quarterbacks such as Timmy Chang and 2003 Heisman trophy winner Jason White . 2005 season . 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 . He saw his first regular season action in the closing minutes of the Patriots ' 41 – 17 loss to the San Diego Chargers on October 2 , 2005 , going 2 - for - 4 for 15 yards and throwing an interception . In the Patriots ' final game of the 2005 regular season , a 28 – 26 loss to the Miami Dolphins on January 1 , 2006 , Cassel played the final three quarters . Though he was sacked for a safety , he threw two touchdown passes , one to Tim Dwight , and the second to Benjamin Watson . The pass to Dwight set up a drop - kick by Doug Flutie , the first such kick since 1941 . 2006 season . Following Flutie ' s retirement in the 2006 offseason , Cassel moved up to second on the Patriots ' depth chart . Although the Patriots considered signing a veteran quarterback to compete with him , Cassel played well in preseason and became the primary backup to Brady . 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 , Testaverde acted as the emergency quarterback . In Week 16 of the 2006 season , after injuries to Josh Miller and Ken Walter , Cassel assumed duties as holder for kicker Stephen Gostkowski . He also led a late touchdown drive in Week 17 against the Tennessee Titans . 2007 season . In Week 7 of the 2007 season , Cassel ' s second pass was intercepted by Jason Taylor of the Miami Dolphins and returned for a touchdown . The next week , with the Patriots leading the Washington Redskins 45 – 0 , he capped off the with a 15 - yard touchdown run in which he dove over two Redskins defenders to reach the end zone , the longest touchdown run by a Patriots quarterback in more than two decades . 2008 season . In the against the Kansas City Chiefs , Cassel came under center when Brady suffered a torn ACL and MCL in the first quarter from a hit by Chiefs safety Bernard Pollard . Cassel led the Patriots to a 17 – 10 victory , completing 13 of 18 passes for 152 yards and one touchdown ; Cassel ' s drives accounted for all of New England ' s points . The day after the game , the Patriots confirmed that Brady ' s serious injuries would sideline him for the rest of the season . Although the Patriots did bring veteran quarterbacks Chris Simms and Tim Rattay to Foxborough , they signed neither , and kept Cassel as the starter . Cassel made his first - ever start on Sunday , September 14 , 2008 , with a winning effort over the New York Jets , completing 16 of 23 passes for 165 yards ; though he threw no touchdowns , he also threw no interceptions . The Patriots ' 19 – 10 victory was the first time in six tries that a quarterback making his first NFL start defeated a team led by Brett Favre . Cassel was voted AFC Offensive Player of the Week for his Week 7 performance against the Denver Broncos on Monday Night Football . He had 183 passing yards and three touchdowns in a , which made it his first three touchdown pass game . Cassel scored the second rushing touchdown of his career on a 13 - yard touchdown in Week 10 against the Buffalo Bills . Cassel had zero touchdowns , but also zero interceptions , as he led the Patriots to a ; the Patriots held the ball in the game for over 37 minutes ; the final 19 - play drive , which lasted over 9 minutes , tied a franchise record for most plays in a single drive . In the Patriots ' to the New York Jets , on November 13 , 2008 , Cassel led the Patriots on three consecutive scoring drives to bring them back from a 24 – 6 deficit with two minutes left in the first half , and threw a 16 - yard touchdown to Randy Moss on 4th - and - 1 with one second remaining to send the game into overtime . He finished 30 - for - 51 passing , with 400 yards , 3 touchdowns ( and a pass for a two - point conversion ) , and no interceptions for a passer rating of 103 . 4 , and 62 yards rushing on eight attempts . 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 . In Week 12 , Cassel led the Patriots to a over the Miami Dolphins , who in Week 3 had ended the Patriots ' NFL record 21 - game regular season win streak . While Cassel threw for just 131 yards in the Week 3 loss , his Week 12 performance topped his performance against the Jets : Cassel completed 30 of 43 passes for 415 yards , three touchdowns to Randy Moss , and one interception , for a passer rating of 114 . 0 ; Cassel also had 14 yards on two rushes , including an 8 - yard touchdown run . The performance made Cassel the first quarterback in franchise history , and only the fifth quarterback in NFL history , to have consecutive games with 400 + yards passing . His efforts earned him the title of AFC Offensive Player of the Week for the second time . In Week 15 , against the Oakland Raiders , Cassel , playing just six days after the death of his father , set a new personal best , throwing for four touchdowns in the Patriots ' . In Week 16 , against the playoff - bound Arizona Cardinals , Cassel led the Patriots to a 47 – 7 blowout win through snow , sleet , and rain in the Patriots ' last regular - season home game of 2008 . 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 . In a role reversal , Matt Leinart entered the game as the Cardinals ' backup quarterback when Kurt Warner was pulled from the game with the Cardinals trailing 44 – 0 ; Leinart completed 6 of 14 passes , for 138 yards , one touchdown , and one interception . In Week 17 , Cassel led the Patriots to their fourth consecutive win , 13 – 0 over the Buffalo Bills in a game marked by winds so severe that they bent the goalposts both before and during the game . Cassel completed 6 passes out of just 8 attempts , the second - lowest attempt total in franchise history ( the lowest being the 5 attempts of the 1982 Snowplow Game ) . Cassel finished with 78 yards , zero touchdowns , and zero interceptions ; his most notable play , however , was a quick kick punt on " third " down in the fourth quarter ; with the wind at his back , 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 . Franchise tag . Cassel , in the last year of his four - year rookie contract , was scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent in 2009 . Given the quality of his performance , and the uncertainty over Brady ' s recovery , NFL analysts and reporters raised the question of whether the Patriots should , or would , franchise Cassel , less than three months after some of those same reporters predicted Cassel would be cut from the team . On January 4 , 2009 , ESPN ' s Chris Mortensen reported that the Patriots would franchise Cassel . The Patriots made it official on February 5 , 2009 , the first day of the 2009 franchise period , and Cassel agreed to the tender two days later . Kansas City Chiefs . 2009 season . On February 28 , 2009 , the Patriots traded both Cassel and OLB Mike Vrabel to the Kansas City Chiefs for the No . 34 overall selection in the 2009 NFL Draft . In what NFL Network ' s Adam Schefter ( now with ESPN ) described as " one of the wilder and more complex behind - the - scene dramas the NFL has seen in any recent offseason , " both the Detroit Lions and Tampa Bay Buccaneers proposed three - way trades to the Denver Broncos , in which they would have received Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler , the Broncos would have received Cassel , and New England would have received a first - round draft pick . Cassel then briefly became teammates with Bernard Pollard , the player whose hit caused Brady ' s injury and subsequently made Cassel a starter . In an interview , Cassel said he would " thank " Pollard for the opportunity , but also stated that he believed the hit on Brady was " unintentional " and he never wishes to see anyone get hurt while playing . Pollard later signed with the Houston Texans . Cassel was expected to compete with Tyler Thigpen , who started 11 games for the Chiefs in 2008 , for the starting quarterback position . Since Cassel ' s number 16 from New England is retired in Kansas City in honor of Len Dawson , Cassel decided to wear number 7 ; he chose 7 because it equals one plus six . Eventually , Thigpen was traded to the Miami Dolphins . On July 14 , 2009 , the Chiefs signed Cassel to a six - year , $ 62 . 7 million contract that includes $ 28 million in guaranteed money , and $ 40 . 5 million in total compensation in the first three seasons . On August 29 , 2009 , Cassel suffered an MCL injury during the 1st quarter of a preseason game against the Seattle Seahawks . Cassel was dragged to the ground and grabbed for his knee immediately upon impact . He attempted to continue playing but called a timeout and limped off the field . 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 Cassel was still unable to play . Cassel , though , has started every game since then going 4 – 11 . Matt Cassel threw for 2 , 924 yards with 16 touchdowns and 16 interceptions and had a quarterback rating of 69 . 9 in first season with the Chiefs . 2010 Season . In 2010 Cassel had a resurgent season starting with a 21 – 14 victory over the San Diego Chargers in the opening week ' s Monday Night Football late game at home in Arrowhead . Cassel would build off of this start helping guide the Chiefs to a 7 – 4 record over the first 12 weeks of football . Due to his form during November , he was named AFC Offensive Player of the Month for November . Cassel completed 90 of 144 passes ( 62 . 5 % ) for 1 , 111 yards and an NFL - leading 12 touchdowns , with just one interception . He had a 111 . 2 quarterback rating for the month . As a result of his performance against the Seattle Seahawks , Cassel won the FedEx Air & Ground NFL Players of the Week award , as voted by the fans . On December 8 , 2010 , Cassel underwent an emergency appendectomy . It was unclear at the time whether he would be able to play in that week ' s game against the San Diego Chargers . The Chiefs ended up starting backup Brodie Croyle and lost the game 31 – 0 . Cassel would return the next two games however and would lead the Chiefs to landslide wins over both the St . Louis Rams in the Governors Cup and then at home against the Tennessee Titans . The 34 – 14 win over the Titans , along with a loss by the Chargers to the Bengals , helped the Chiefs clinch the division title . This would be the first Chiefs playoff game in four years and the first home playoff game since 2003 , the last time the Chiefs won the AFC West division . In January 2011 Cassel was named as an alternate to the Pro Bowl in place of an injured Tom Brady . Cassel threw for two touchdowns and two interceptions in the Pro Bowl . 2011 season . In 2011 , Cassel had led the Chiefs to a 4 – 4 record . During the first two games , Cassel only threw one touchdown . Those first two games were blowout losses . In the second game , Cassel threw three interceptions . Cassel finally had his first good game , throwing two touchdowns in a 17 – 20 loss against the Chargers . He led the Chiefs to their first win against the Vikings , where he threw for 260 yards and one touchdown . The next week , he led the Chiefs to a comeback victory against the Colts . The Colts jumped to a 17 – 0 lead , but Cassel threw four touchdowns and 257 yards with no interceptions to lead the Chiefs to a 28 – 24 win . After the game , Cassel had a 138 . 9 quarterback rating . In week 8 , Cassel threw one touchdown though throwing two interceptions . Cassel injured his hand in a week 10 game vs . the Denver Broncos . He was replaced by Tyler Palko , and had surgery on the injured hand on November 14 . On November 21 , he was placed on injured reserve , ending his season . 2012 Season . In Week 1 of the 2012 season , Cassel had a tremendous first half against the Atlanta Falcons , but threw two interceptions in the second half . His final stats were two interceptions , one touchdown , one rushing touchdown , and a 72 . 5 quarterback rating . The final score resulted in a Chiefs loss , 24 - 40 . The Chiefs had to rely on a 91 - yard run by Jamaal Charles , a safety , and four field goals to gain their first win against the New Orleans Saints , as even with excellent field position throughout the second half , Cassel could not lead the team to the endzone ; he threw one interception and no touchdowns . The final score of that game was a 24 - 27 overtime win for the Chiefs . The next week , Cassel struggled and threw two touchdowns , but three interceptions in a 20 - 37 Chiefs loss against the Chargers . After the game Cassel ' s starting job appeared to be in jeopardy , but coach Romeo Crennel said Cassel would start the next game against the Ravens . On October 7 , 2012 against the Baltimore Ravens , Cassel left the game with a head injury . Earlier in the day , fans had called for him to be benched and when he exited the game , several fans were cheering . On October 11 , 2012 Chiefs head coach Romeo Crennel announced Cassel had been ruled out of the October 14 , 2012 game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and named Brady Quinn the starter for the game . At the time of Cassel ' s injury , he had accumulated nine interceptions and five fumbles through the first five games of the season . This mark was more than any other team in the NFL , except the Philadelphia Eagles , who also had fourteen turnovers in their first five games of the 2012 season . On October 22 , 2012 , Crennel named Brady Quinn as the starting quarterback for the Chiefs following their bye week . Cassel was deemed healthy enough to play , but still given the backup role . Minnesota Vikings . 2013 season . On March 13 , 2013 , sources close to the Chiefs reported they intended to trade or release Cassel . On March 14 , 2013 , the Chiefs released Cassel . On the same day , Cassel signed with the Minnesota Vikings . Personal . Cassel married his longtime girlfriend Lauren Killian , a former USC volleyball player , in February 2007 ; Carson Palmer was his best man . Cassel has three siblings , older brother Jack ( who is married to Killian ' s USC roommate and teammate , Julie Mariani ) , younger brother Justin , and younger sister Amanda . Jack pitched for the Houston Astros in 2008 , and signed in January 2009 with the Cleveland Indians . Justin is a pitcher for the Charlotte Knights , a AAA baseball affiliate of the Chicago White Sox . Cassel is the son of Emmy - winning set designer Barbara Cassel and her husband Greg Cassel ; they divorced when Cassel was 14 . Cassel ' s father died on December 8 , 2008 . On the night of January 26 , 2012 , a fire broke out in a woman ' s house , in the village of Loch Lloyd , Missouri . Cassel , seeing smoke from the fire , ran to her house to alert her .