Matt Cassel Could Miss Opener

Added on Sep 05, 2011 by Scott in

NFL

Things haven’t exactly gone swimmingly this summer for the defending AFC West champion Kansas City Chiefs. Their poor showings in the first three exhibition games compelled head coach Todd Haley to take extreme measures in the finale. Rather than sit his starters to prevent injury, Haley played his first team into the second half. What happened? Tight end Tony Moeaki tore an ACL and quarterback Matt Cassel suffered a cracked rib.

Moeaki will miss the entire season and Cassel could be sidelined for the season opener against the Bills. Cassel left last Thursday’s game versus Green Bay after having the wind knocked out of him. At the time, both Cassel and Haley didn’t consider the injury serious.

“He wanted to go back in,” Haley said, per The [Kansas City] Star. “I thought the prudent thing was to be smart there. … Unfortunately, he got dinged up a little bit. I’m not overly concerned.”

If Cassel can’t go, backup Tyler Palko will make his first career start. The 28-year-old has thrown six passes in three seasons, but did complete 37 of 62 passes for 384 yards, two touchdowns and a pair of interceptions during the preseason.

Cassel is coming off his best season as a professional. In 2010, he threw for a career high 27 touchdowns and posted a quarterback rating of 93.0. He did sit out one game in December after undergoing an emergency appendectomy. Then backup Brodie Croyle filled in and the Chiefs were drubbed 31-0 by San Diego.

Kansas City finished last year with a 10-6 record, but will face a much tougher schedule in 2011. A brutal stretch from Weeks 8-11 will see them play the Patriots, Steelers, Bears, Jets and Packers. Needless to say, repeating as division champions and returning to the playoffs won’t be easy.

The Chiefs host the Bills on September 11th. Right now they are 4.5 point favorites.

Source: NFL.com