Matt

Cassel

''Matt is picking things up pretty quickly,’' coach Bill Belichick said. ''He’s a smart kid. He’s been in a good system, a pro system, which they run out at USC. They’ve done pro-type of things. He’s had a good spring and he’s followed that up with a good training camp in terms of his learning and understanding the plays and how we identify the defenses and so forth.’'

Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart’s backup is probably going to squeeze Rohan Davey or Doug Flutie out of a job this season. He also rushed for 46 yards on five carries. He’s been the story of Patriots camp from day one.

''Look, the guy’s played one preseason game, made a lot of mistakes, came up with some good plays, but I think it’s a little too early to start working on his bust for Canton,’' Belichick said.

They also worked out Brandon Weeden and Brock Osweiler. The Colts are in need of a backup following Andrew Luck’s retirement, but they may wait until after final cuts to sign someone. Cassel, Weeden, and Osweiler would all be low-end options.

He’s competing with Jake Rudock for backup duties. Cassel’s ties to GM Bob Quinn landed him a veteran minimum deal, but he doesn’t have much left. He’s going to need a strong preseason to beat out Rudock.

Cassel’s cracked rib could affect his performance against the Bills, but it won’t prevent him from playing. He’s our 25th-ranked quarterback this week.

Cassel was absolutely brutal in the first half as the Chiefs managed just 34 yards of total offense and had no plays longer than four yards. But he came on in the second half, getting the ball upfield to Dwayne Bowe and Steve Breaston as the Chiefs rallied. Cassel even had a chance to win the game, but threw an interception on a screen pass with about one minute remaining and the Chiefs down by three points. Cassel is averaging a brutal 142.6 passing yards per game through three weeks.

Don’t look now, but the Chiefs have a little two-game win streak going entering their Week 6 bye. Kansas City’s outside receivers, Dwayne Bowe and Steve Breaston, posed physical mismatches for undersized Colts cornerbacks Jacob Lacey and Terrence Johnson, and Cassel capitalized with numerous jump-ball completions in single coverage. Cassel finally looked comfortable, improving his TD-to-INT ratio for the season to 8:5. He remains a QB2 in fantasy.

Cassel’s 38.3 passer rating was enough to outplay both Kyle Boller and Carson Palmer, so the Chiefs rolled to a 28-0 win. But Cassel did little more than manage the game, using his running game and Dwayne Bowe as crutches. He’s just a low-end QB2 in a tough matchup with the Chargers next week.

Newly signed Brady Quinn will get a long look, but he’s not going to be on equal footing with Cassel entering training camp. Since Cassel has settled in as more of a “bridge” than an answer, the Chiefs could find themselves in the first-round mix for Ryan Tannehill next month.