By tagging Cassel with a non-exclusive rights franchise tag, the Patriots have essentially locked the one free agent QB up who had the highest demand for teams seeking help at the position.

The non-exclusive designation means a couple of things: First, that the Patriots will be paying Cassell $14.65mil dollars next year. It also means that he is free to enter negotiations with any team, but if an agreement is reached, the team will have to forfeit two first round draft choices, in addition to paying the QB's salary, and Cassel will have final say on who gets to bid for his services. It will be interesting to see if anyone bites...