Scott Pioli is quickly turning the Kansas City Chiefs into the Patriots of the AFC West after he was able to acquire quarterback Matt Cassel and Mike Vrabel from New England in exchange for a second round pick (No. 34 overall).

NFL.com’s Adam Schefter, who first reported the story, claims that the two teams have agreed on the compensation, but details are not yet available. Rotoworld.com, however, confirms that the compensation for Cassel and Vrabel is a second round pick, which seems incredibly light for a starting quarterback and linebacker.

Did Bill Belichick do his old buddy Pioli a favor by only letting Cassel go for only a second rounder? Did Pioli have incriminating photos of New England front office members and was set to release them unless they agreed to trade Cassel for as little as possible? How they hell could the Pats only get a second rounder for Cassel and Vrabel?

In a surprising move, the Patriots traded veteran linebacker Mike Vrabel to the Chiefs for an undisclosed draft pick. Vrabel was expected to take a lesser role with New England next year, so this move allows him to start in KC and be a mentor for a young Chiefs team.

On a related note, Patriots beat writer Mike Reiss is speculating that the Vrabel-to-KC-trade could be part of a bigger trade involving quarterback Matt Cassel.

2) Could this be part of a larger deal with the Chiefs that might involve Matt Cassel? The 33-year-old Vrabel was entering the final year of his contract in 2009. He was due to earn $2.2 million in base salary, would receive a $1 million roster bonus, and count $4.3 million against the salary cap.
Given Vrabel’s contributions to the Patriots — on the field and in the locker room — that doesn’t seem like much to digest.

So why make the deal?

From a Chiefs perspective, they had one of the youngest rosters in the NFL last season, and new general manager Scott Pioli understands the importance of veteran leadership in the locker room. Vrabel will provide that in Kansas City, likely as a team captain.

The question is why the Patriots would trade Vrabel.

Well, the Pats only save $3 mil in cap space with this move, so it couldn’t have just been about money. New England might have been toying with the idea of cutting Vrabel, so once they found a trade partner they jumped. At least they get compensation.

According to the Baltimore Sun, the Jets’ deal with free agent linebacker Bart Scott is not official as initially reported, and now the Ravens are apparently offering him a five-year contract worth $42 million.

Ravens inside linebacker Bart Scott is in New York, but continues to still negotiate with both the Ravens and Jets.

There is speculation that the Ravens have offered Scott a five-year contract worth $42 million, and Scott also wants assurances that he will become the center piece of the defense in Baltimore, much like Ray Lewis was during the last decade.

Jets head coach Rex Ryan, the Ravens’ former defensive coordinator, keeps increasing the ante as the Ravens go up.

Several sources reported that the Jets’ deal for Scott was already completed, but apparently it was just an offer. It’s easy to see why Scott would sign with the Jets considering Rex Ryan is now New York’s new head coach, but apparently the Ravens are still very much in play.

Ray Lewis might walk, so losing Scott would be a huge blow to the Ravens’ linebacker corps. It’ll be interesting to see how this thing plays out.

According to a report by the National Football Post, the Falcons have set their eyes on free agent L.J. Smith (Eagles), who became the best tight end on the market after the Titans placed the non-exclusive franchise tag on Bo Scaife.

The Falcons brought in several run-blocking tight ends last offseason, but need to give quarterback Matt Ryan a better pass-catching target at the position. Smith has been unable to stay healthy the past two years, but he certainly has the size, speed and hands to upgrade the tight end spot and as long as the Falcons don’t overpay, he could be a quality signing.

One notion surrounding Atlanta’s interest in Smith is that Oklahoma State’s Brandon Pettigrew, who is arguably the best tight end prospect in the draft and a player many mocks have the Falcons taking at No. 24, hurt his stock when he only ran a 4.8-forty at the scouting combine. But the more realistic idea is that the Falcons want to shore up their need for a pass-catching tight end before the draft, so then in April they can turn their sole attention to the multiple holes they have on defense.

In an effort to create cap space after signing free agent defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth to a seven-year, $100 million contract and cornerback DeAngelo Hall to a six-year, $55 million deal, the Redskins are set to release Shawn Springs.

Washington was reportedly shopping Springs, but obviously found no takers for the 34-year old corner. The Skins save $6 million in cap space with this move, which is vital because they were $1 mil under the cap when free agency began. When healthy, Springs was a quality corner for the Skins. But he couldn’t stay healthy and the cap charge was just too much.

More cuts have to be on the horizon for Washington, but it’s hard to speculate who will get the axe at this point. Players like Jason Taylor could restructure their contracts, too, although nothing of that ilk has been reported yet.

Surprisingly, the Baltimore Sun reports that the Redskins are currently the front-runners to sign free agent center Jason Brown. He would no doubt be an upgrade on Washington’s offensive line, but where would they get the cap space in order to make another big signing like Brown? Either Vinny Cerrato and Dan Snyder are geniuses and have some master plan that hasn’t unfolded yet or are completely screwing the Redskins for years to come.

According to FOXSports.com, free agent wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh will make a visit to Seattle on Friday.

Houshmandzadeh has averaged 89 catches for 1,012 yards and seven touchdowns in five seasons as a Bengals starter. But he also will be 32 in September, which may scare some teams from offering the lucrative long-term contract Houshmandzadeh is seeking.

The Seahawks failed to have a wide receiver crack the 500-yard mark in 2008 — the first time that had happened in a non-strike season since the franchise’s inception in 1976.

Two of Seattle’s top four receivers — Bobby Engram and Koren Robinson — are now free agents.

Hopefully Housh enjoys blocking because if he signs with Seattle, he’ll be doing a lot of it in Greg Knapp’s West Coast Offense. Not that he wouldn’t be a fit for the Seahawks because they do need dependable wide receivers (some mock drafts have the Hawks taking Texas Tech wideout Michael Crabtree in the first round), but Knapp has been known to frustrate receivers before (Terrell Owens and Peerless Price are just two examples) and Housh isn’t the type to bite his tongue if he’s unhappy about his role.

Housh also told ESPN 950 that if the Eagles want him that he’d, “be an Eagle tomorrow.� But does Philly want him?

One of the small notions when it comes to the NFL offseason is never to sign a free agent defender from the Baltimore Ravens. Because usually once they get out of the Ravens’ 3-4 defensive scheme, they never live up to their high free agent billing. (See Ed Hartwell for just one example.)

But considering the man that ran the Ravens’ defense for the better part of a decade is now the head coach for the New York Jets, it was probably safe to take the chance on Baltimore free agent linebacker Bart Scott.

The Washington Redskins have agreed to terms with free agent defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth on a seven-year, $100 million contract. The deal also includes $41 million in guaranteed money and the deal could reach $115 million in total.

Redskins fans are either jumping for joy right now or jumping off a bridge. If they’re smart, they might take the latter route, because Vinny Cerrato and Dan Snyder might have just sunk the fate of the franchise into one player.

Haynesworth is no doubt the best free agent on the market. His blend of size and athleticism make him one of the most feared defensive tackles in the league and he can dominate on a weekly basis. He truly can be a one-man wrecking crew when he wants to and is talent is unquestioned.

National cut day in the NFL continues. The Jets released Laveranues Coles, while the Rams cut quarterback Trent Green and Drew Bennett.

The Jets released veteran wide receiver Laveranues Coles this afternoon — but both sides left open the possibility of his return to the team.

Coles, who was scheduled to earn a guaranteed $6 million salary for the 2009-10 season, wanted a long-term deal with the team. But when the two sides could not reach an agreement, they reached a compromise, giving Coles the right to find his own deal on the open market on the eve of free agency.

Considering the market for wide receivers, which is pretty much T.J. Houshmandzadeh at this point, Coles could still get a decent contract from another team. If he doesn’t get the long-term deal he covets, a reunion with the Jets seems more than likely.

The Rams will have a new backup quarterback in 2009. The team released Trent Green, who was one year into his second tour of duty with the team on Wednesday in a move that saves the team $1.3 million of salary cap space.

The departure of Green, a two-time Pro Bowler who was with the Rams previously in 1999 and 2000, means the Rams will have a new No. 2 quarterback in 2009. One possibility is Tampa Bay free agent Jeff Garcia, who played for Rams offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur in Philadelphia in 2006.

The team also released wide receiver Drew Bennett, who had been a major disappointment since signing a $30 million free-agent contract two years ago. Bennett’s relieve is a wash, saving the team only $50,000 in cap space.

The Rams didn’t save much cap space by cutting Bennett, but there was no reason to hang onto him either. He was a gigantic bust since he arrived in St. Louis and could wind up back with Tennessee under coordinator Mike Heimerdinger.

Philadelphia has emerged as a landing spot for free agent wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh and trade bait Anquan Boldin, but according to Eagles’ GM Tom Heckert the team is already set at the wideout position.

Philadelphia Eagles general manager Tom Heckert tells Fox 29 the team likely won’t be adding a free agent receiver to Donovan McNabb’s arsenal.

“It’s an easy out for everyone to say we need a wide receiver but we did get one – DeSean Jackson,” Heckert said. Jackson was a second-round pick last season.

Heckert believes Jackson is a prime threat at wide receiver and receivers won’t be an issue for the team during the free agent season.

He also said the Donovan McNabb has been at the Eagles training facility daily since the Super Bowl and that he’s been talking regularly with McNabb.

But Heckert was tight lipped about any ongoing contract talks with the star quarterback.

This could just be a smokescreen by Heckert, but then again, this hasn’t been a team that goes out and pursues top dollar wide receivers very often so maybe the GM is speaking honestly.