Brady Quinn Replaces Matt Cassel as Starting Quarterback While Chiefs Vie for No. 1 Pick in 2013 NFL Draft

by Doug Kyed on Tue, Oct 23, 2012 at 12:26AM

Chiefs fans can rejoice, Matt Cassel has been benched for Brady Quinn, which nearly locks up the No. 1 pick in the 2013 NFL draft.

West Virginia and USC games may receive higher ratings in the Kansas City market as Chiefs fans pine over college quarterbacks Geno Smith and Matt Barkley, two possible top five draft picks in 2013.

If the Cassel era is truly over in Kansas City, a disappointing run has come to an end. Cassel has a 19-25 record as the Chiefs starter with a 57.3 completion percentage, 8,903 yards, 58 touchdowns, 41 interceptions and a 78.2 quarterback rating. It appears that the players and coaching around Cassel in New England truly gave him a boost during his best year in the NFL — 2008.

The Chiefs gave up the 34th overall selection in the 2009 draft for Cassel and then gave him a six-year, $62.7 million contract. The Patriots wound up drafting Patrick Chung with that pick.

In Quinn, the Chiefs are inserting a former 22nd overall pick who has put up a far worse career than his Chiefs predecessor. The Notre Dame product has managed just a 3-10 record in five seasons, with a 52.9 completion percentage, 10 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. Quinn didn't fare much better than Cassel in his lone 2012 start, losing to the Buccaneers in Week 6 38-10.

The Chiefs mess of a season rides on the shoulders of far more than just their quarterbacks. Ineptitude abounds within the organization starting with general manager Scott Pioli and trailing down to head coach/defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel, offensive coordinator Brian Daboll and quarterbacks coach Jim Zorn. All are to blame for this Chiefs season, and all may be trying to find work in 2013.

If the Chiefs truly do acquire the No. 1 overall pick in the 2013 draft, or even a top five pick, fans will be rewarded with either Barkley or Smith, both of whom are heads and shoulders above Cassel, who never quite found his way in Kansas City, making poor decisions and lacking prime accuracy.

Neither Barkley or Smith are quite the prospects that Andrew Luck or Robert Griffin III were in 2012, but both are accurate quarterbacks, who should be primed to start as rookies in the NFL. It's amazing that just weeks ago, the Chiefs were looked at as a contender in the AFC West, and now their hopes ride on Quinn. Pioli is surely hoping that some of the NFL's parity starts swinging their way.

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