Matt Cassel was drafted by the New England Patriots in the seventh round (230th overall) of the 2005 NFL Draft ... Signed by the Patriots (06/28/05).

View Matt Cassel's Career Statistics >>

2008 (16/15/0/0):  Named AFC Offensive Player of the Week for Week 7 for his contributions, including a career-high 136.3 passer rating, in the Patriots' 41-7 victory over the Denver Broncos on Oct. 20 ... Named AFC Offensive Player of the Week for Week 12 after throwing for a career-high 415 yards and three touchdowns in the Patriots' 48-28 victory at the Miami Dolphins on Nov. 23 ... Became the fifth player in NFL history to have back-to-back 400-yard passing games with a 415-yard performance against the Miami Dolphins on Nov. 23 after a 400-yard performance against the New York Jets on Nov. 13 ... Made his first career start at the New York Jets on Sept. 14 ... Posted a career-high passer rating of 136.3 while throwing for a career-best three touchdown passes in the Patriots' 41-7 victory over the Broncos on Oct. 20 ... His 136.3 passer rating against the Broncos ranks as the 10th best mark by a Patriots quarterback since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger ... Tallied a then career-high 267 passing yards in the Patriots' 23-16 comeback win over the St. Louis Rams on Oct. 26 ... Became the first player since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger to total at least 400 passing yards and at least 60 rushing yards in a game versus the New York Jets on Nov. 13 ... Set career highs in passing yards (400), completions (30), pass attempts (50) and rushing yards (62) while tying a career-high of three touchdown passes against the Jets ... Set a single-game career high with four touchdown passes in the Patriots' 49-26 victory over the Oakland Raiders on Dec. 14 ... Tallied his 21st touchdown pass of the season on a 76-yard connection to Randy Moss, his 21 touchdown passes are the third highest total by a Patriots rookie quarterback.

Kansas City (9/7):  Entered the game in the first quarter for the injured Tom Brady and completed 13 of 18 pass attempts for 152 yards and one touchdown in the Patriots' 17-10 win over the Chiefs ...  Found Randy Moss downfield on a 51-yard connection in the first quarter, the longest completion of his career ... After entering the game, commandeered the Patriots' offense on a 98-yard, first-quarter drive that culminated in a 10-yard touchdown pass to Randy Moss.  at N.Y. Jets (9/14):  Won his first career start at quarterback, completing 16 of 23 passes for 165 yards in the Patriots' 19-10 victory over the Jets ... Completed his first four passes of the day for 61 yards ... Connected with Kevin Faulk on a 22-yard catch-and-run out of the backfield to extend a touchdown drive in the third quarter.  Miami (9/21):  Started at quarterback, completing 19 of 31 pass attempts for 131 yards, one touchdown and one interception ... Connected with Jabar Gaffney on a 5-yard touchdown pass on fourth and three in the third quarter.  at San Francisco (10/5):  Set career highs, making good on 22 of 32 of his pass attempts for 259 yards and one touchdown in the Patriots' 30-21 road victory over the 49ers ... Delivered a career long touchdown pass of 66 yards, hitting a streaking Randy Moss in stride for a touchdown on a third-and-eight play to tie the score 7-7 in the first quarter.  at San Diego (10/12): Completed 22 of 38 pass attempts for 203 yards with seven carries for 29 yards at the Chargers.  Denver (10/20):  Posted a career-high passer rating of 136.3 while completing 18 of 24 passes for 185 yards and three touchdowns in a 41-7 Monday Night victory over the Broncos ... Hit Randy Moss in the end zone for a 13-yard touchdown pass to give the Patriots a 20-0 lead in the second quarter ... Connected with Moss for a second time on a 27-yard scoring strike that gave the Patriots a 27-0 lead in the third quarter ... Tallied his career best third touchdown pass of the game, connecting with Wes Welker on a 6-yard touchdown that extended the Patriots' lead to 34-0.  St. Louis (10/26):  Led the Patriots in a 23-16 comeback win over the Rams, while tallying a career-high 267 passing yards and completing 21 of 33 pass attempts with one touchdown ... After trailing the Rams 16-13 in the fourth quarter, completed the comeback with a game-winning 15-yard touchdown pass to Kevin Faulk in the corner of the end zone with 3:19 remaining in the game to give the Patriots their final margin of victory, 23-16 ... Notched a career-high with 267 passing yards on the game-winning toss to Faulk, his final pass of the game.  at Indianapolis (11/2):  Completed 25 of 34 passes (73.5 percent) for 204 yards against the Colts ... Tallied five carries for 20 yards.  Buffalo (11/9):  Started at quarterback in the Patriots' 20-10 victory over the Bills ... Scored his second career rushing touchdown with a 13-yard run in the first quarter to give the Patriots an early 7-0 lead ... Completed 23 of 34 pass attempts for 234 yards while making nine carries for 22 yards and one touchdown ... In third-down situations in the second half, completed 5 of 5 passes attempted for 74 yards with each completion resulting in a Patriots' first down.  N.Y. Jets (11/13):  Started at quarterback and set career highs in passing yards (400), completions (30), pass attempts (50) and rushing yards (62) while tying a career-high of three touchdown passes against the Jets ... Orchestrated two clutch two-minute drills to end each half, as the Patriots posted touchdowns to conclude both the first and second halves ... Found Jabar Gaffney for a 19-yard touchdown to cut the Jets lead to 24-13 with 15 seconds left in the first half ... Connected with Benjamin Watson on a 10-yard touchdown pass to cut the Jets lead to 24-21 at the end of the third quarter ... Tied the game with a dramatic last-second touchdown pass to Randy Moss, good for 16 yards, that with the ensuing extra point tied the score at 31, forcing overtime ... Posted 62 yards rushing on eight carries to lead the team in rushing and posted the highest rushing total by a Patriots' quarterback in more than 30 years ... His 19-yard run in the second quarter, extending a Patriots' touchdown drive, was the longest of his career.  at Miami (11/23):  Became the fifth player in NFL history to have back-to-back 400-yard passing games with a 415-yard performance against the Dolphins after a 400-yard performance against the New York Jets ... Established career highs in passing yards and completions for the second straight week, throwing for 415 yards on 30 completions with three touchdown passes in the Patriots' 48-28 victory over the Dolphins ... Joined Drew Bledsoe and became second Patriots quarterback to pass for 400 yards twice in their career ... His 415 passing yards are the fifth highest total in team history ... Hooked up with Randy Moss for the first of duo's three touchdowns with a 25-yard catch and run to give the Patriots a 17-14 lead in the second quarter ... Re-gained the lead with an 8-yard touchdown pass to Moss, putting the Patriots on top, 24-21 ... Lofted a jump that Moss came down with for a 29-yard touchdown pass to push the Patriots ahead 38-28 in the fourth quarter ... Tallied two rushes for 14 yards, including an 8-yard touchdown scramble to put the Patriots ahead 10-7 in the second quarter.  Pittsburgh (11/30):  Started at quarterback ... Completed 19 of 39 pass attempts for 169 yards against the Steelers.  at Seattle (12/7):  Directed his second career fourth-quarter comeback, completing 26 of 44 pass attempts for 268 yards and one touchdown in the Patriots' 24-21 win at the Seahawks ... On an 11-yard reception to Kevin Faulk in the fourth quarter, exceeded the 3,000-yard passing mark for the season ... As the Patriots trailed 21-13 in the third quarter, directed a 10-play, 68-yard drive that ended in a 27-yard field goal by Stephen Gostkowski ... Followed with a 14-play, 71-yard drive culminating with Sammy Morris' 2-yard touchdown run, giving the Patriots a 24-21 lead with 2:44 remaining in the game ... Connected with Benjamin Watson on a 2-yard touchdown reception in the second quarter, cutting the Seattle lead to four points.  at Oakland (12/14):  Threw for a career-high four touchdown passes while completing 18 of 30 pass attempts for 218 yards in the Patriots' 49-26 victory over the Raiders ... Hit Kevin Faulk for a 7-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter for a  7-0 lead ... Found Randy Moss in the corner of the end zone on a 20-yard touchdown pass to provide the Patriots with a quick 14-0 lead in the first quarter ... Combined with Wes Welker on a 13-yard scoring strike in the second quarter, giving the Patriots a 28-7 lead ... Connected with Moss a second time with a 9-yard touchdown pass -- his career-high fourth of the game -- in the back of the end zone in the third quarter for a 42-14 Patriots' lead ...  With a 16-yard completion to Sam Aiken in the third quarter, surpassed the 300-completion mark for the season, the 12th such season in Patriots history ... His four touchdown passes tied the sixth-best single-game touchdown performance in Patriots history.  Arizona (12/21):  Despite wintry conditions, compiled his third 300-yard passing game of the season, completing 20-of-36 pass attempts for 345 yards, three touchdowns and a 116.1 passer rating in the Patriots' 47-7 victory over the Cardinals ... Hooked up with Kevin Faulk on a 15-yard catch-and-run play for a touchdown in the second quarter, providing the Patriots with a 21-0 lead ... Found Wes Welker on an 11-yard touchdown in the second quarter, pushing the Patriots ahead 28-0 ... Hit a streaking Randy Moss for a season long 76-yard touchdown play to give the Patriots a commanding 38-0 lead.  Buffalo (12/28):  Completed 75 percent of his passes, connecting on 6 of 8 attempts for 78 yards and no interceptions despite blustery conditions in the Patriots' 13-0 victory over the Bills ... Extended a Patriots touchdown drive in the third quarter with a 6-yard run on fourth and two, helping to set up a LaMont Jordan 2-yard touchdown run ... Converted another key fourth down try to set up Jordan's score with a 12-yard completion to Wes Welker on fourth and five to Bills' 2-yard line ... Booted a 57-yard punt into the wind that was downed at the Bills' 2-yard line in the fourth quarter, becoming the first Patriots quarterback to attempt a punt since Tom Brady in 2003.

2007 (6/0/10/0):  Tied a career-high seeing playing time in six games in 2007... Took in his first NFL touchdown on a 15-yard scramble in the fourth quarter of the Patriots' 52-7 victory over the Washington Redskins on Oct. 28, 2007.

at N.Y. Jets (9/9):  Served as the holder for the placekicker in the first half the Patriots' 38-14 win over the Jets. San Diego (9/16):  Suited up but did not play as the backup quarterback in the Patriots' 38-14 win over the Chargers.  Buffalo (9/23):  Completed the Patriots' 38-7 victory over the Bills, replacing Tom Brady with 8:15 remaining in the fourth quarter... Did not attempt a pass.  at Cincinnati (10/1): Completed the Patriots' 34-13 victory over the Bengals, replacing Tom Brady in the fourth quarter... Did not attempt a pass.  Cleveland (10/7):  Suited up but did not play as the backup quarterback in the Patriots' 34-17 win over the Browns.  at Dallas (10/14):  Suited up but did not play as the backup quarterback in the Patriots' 48-27 win over the Cowboys.  at Miami (10/21):  Relieved Tom Brady in the fourth quarter and did not complete a pass in two attempts.  Washington (10/28):  Played in reserve at quarterback, completing two of three passes for 28 yards and had one rushing touchdown in the Patriots' 52-7 win over the Redskins... Eluded several tackles while sprinting 15-yards for his first NFL touchdown, giving the Patriots a 52-0 lead with 6:01 remaining in the game...  Set up his own rushing score with a 21-yard connection to Jabar Gaffney on a fourth-and-two play.  at Indianapolis (11/4):  Suited up but did not play in the Patriots' 24-20 victory over the Colts.  at Buffalo (11/18):  Relieved Tom Brady in the fourth quarter and completed both of his two pass attempts for 10 yards in the Patriots' 56-10 road win over the Bills.  Philadelphia (11/25):  Suited up but did not play in the Patriots' 31-28 victory over the Eagles.  at Baltimore (12/3):  Suited up but did not play in the Patriots' 27-24 win over the Ravens.  Pittsburgh (12/9):  Suited up but did not play in the Patriots' 34-13 win over the Steelers.  N.Y. Jets (12/16):  Suited up but did not play.  Miami (12/23):  Suited up but did not play.  at N.Y. Giants (12/29):  Suited up but did not play in the Patriots' 38-35 win in the regular-season finale.

2007 Postseason (0/0/3/0):  Jacksonville (1/12):  Suited up but did not play in the Patriots' 31-20 win over the Jaguars.  San Diego (1/20):  Suited up but did not play in the Patriots' 21-12 win over the Chargers in the AFC Championship Game.  N.Y. Giants (2/3):  Suited up but did not play in Super Bowl XLII.

2006 (6/0, 3/0): Saw action in a total of six regularseason games and three playoff contests ... Saw action at quarterback in five regular-season games and served as the team's holder in the final two regular-season games and all three playoff contests.

Minnesota (10/30): Saw his first action of the season as a reserve at quarterback in the fourth quarter ... Did not attempt a pass. Green Bay (11/19): Saw action at quarterback in the final two series of the Patriots' 35-0 road victory over the Packers. Miami (12/10): Saw action as the backup quarterback during the final series on the fourth quarter ... Completed two of three passes for 12 yards ... Found Daniel Graham for an 8-yard reception on third-and-six in the fourth quarter. Houston (12/17): Saw action as the backup quarterback in the fourth quarter of the Patriots' commanding 40-7 victory over the Texans ... Completed three of four passes for 20 yards ... Found Corey Dillon for a 10-yard reception on a third-and-seven play in the fourth quarter ... Connected with Reche Caldwell for a 6-yard gain on fourth-and-four late in the fourth quarter. Jacksonville (12/24): Served as the placekicking holder. Tennessee (12/31): Saw action in a reserve role in the fourth quarter of the Patriots' 40-23 victory over the Titans ... Extended the Patriots' final touchdown drive with a 5-yard scamper on third-and-one late in the fourth quarter.

2005 (2/0/0/14): Played in two regular-season games and one playoff contest ... Participated in his first career NFL contest and recorded his first career NFL completion on a 3-yard pass to Patrick Pass in the fourth quarter against San Diego (10/2) ... Threw his first career touchdown pass to Tim Dwight against Miami (1/1/06).

Oakland (9/8): Inactive in his role as the third quarterback in the Patriots' 30-20 victory over the Raiders. at Carolina (9/18): Served as the third quarterback. at Pittsburgh (9/25): Inactive in his role as the third quarterback in the Patriots' 23-20 victory over the Steelers. San Diego (10/2): Played in his first career NFL contest ... Saw action at quarterback in the fourth quarter and completed two of four passes for 15 yards with an interception ... Recorded his first career NFL completion on a 3-yard pass to Patrick Pass in the fourth quarter. at Atlanta (10/9): Inactive in his role as the third quarterback in the Patriots' 31-28 win over the Falcons. at Denver (10/16): Inactive as the third quarterback. Buffalo (10/30): Inactive in his role as the third quarterback in the Patriots' 21-16 victory over the Bills on Sunday Night Football. Indianapolis (11/7): Inactive as the third quarterback. at Miami (11/13): Inactive in his role as the third quarterback in the Patriots' 23-16 road victory over the Dolphins. New Orleans (11/20): Inactive in his role as the third quarterback in the Patriots' 24-17 win over the Saints. at Kansas City (11/27): Inactive as the third quarterback. N.Y. Jets (12/4): Inactive as the third quarterback in the Patriots' 16-3 victory over the Jets. at Buffalo (12/11): Inactive as the third quarterback in the Patriots' commanding 35-7 road victory over the Bills. Tampa Bay (12/17): Inactive in his role as the third quarterback in the Patriots' 28-0 shutout victory over the Buccaneers. at N.Y. Jets (12/26): Inactive as the third quarterback in the Patriots' 31-21 victory over the Jets. Miami (1/1): Saw significant action at quarterback and completed 11 of 20 passes for 168 yards and two touchdowns ... Registered a 116.2 quarterback rating ... Hooked up with Andre Davis for a 36-yard reception in the third quarter ... Connected with Benjamin Watson for a 30-yard pass play in the fourth quarter ... Extended the Patriots' second touchdown drive with a 1-yard sneak on third-and-1 in the fourth quarter ... Connected with Tim Dwight for his first career touchdown pass from nine yards out in the fourth quarter ... Converted a key third-and-nine with a 21- yard pass to Bam Childress in the fourth quarter ... Kept the Patriots' final touchdown drive alive with a 2-yard sneak on fourth-and-1 in the fourth quarter ... Found Benjamin Watson for a 9-yard touchdown strike on the final play of the game.

2005 Postseason (1/0/0/1): Jacksonville (1/7): Took the final two snaps in the Patriots’ 28-3 AFC Wild Card victory over the Jaguars. at Denver (1/14): Inactive in his role as the third quarterback.

Served as backup to Heisman Trophy winning quarterbacks Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart at Southern Cal ... Played in 25 games, completing 20 of 33 pass attempts (60.5 percent) for 192 yards. 2004 (Senior): Saw reserve action in nine games and completed 10 of 14 passes for 97 yards. 2003 (Junior): Won the Howard Jones/Football Alumni Club Academic Award as the USC upperclassman with the highest GPA ... Played quarterback and tight end ... Saw action in eight games ... Completed six of 13 passes (46.3 percent) for 63 yards. 2002 (Sophomore): Saw late action in 10 games as a backup to Carson Palmer, completing 3 of 4 passes for 27 yards. 2001 (Freshman): Won USC's Co- Lifter Award ... Appeared in seven games as a wide receiver and on special teams ... Played quarterback briefly against California and was 1 of 2 for five yards ... He also ran for 22 yards on three carries (7.3 avg), caught a 12-yard pass and made a tackle on the season. 2000 (Redshirt): Redshirted as a freshman quarterback.

Matthew Cassel was born on May 17, 1982 ... Played on the Northridge (Calif.) team that was a finalist at the 1994 Little League World Series ... Was featured in the HBO documentary "Freshman Year," filmed in 1999-2000 ... Older brother, Jack, is a pitcher for the Houston Astros and younger brother, Justin, is in the Chicago White Sox system ... Attended Chatsworth (Calif.) High ... Completed 137-of-261 passes (52.5 pct) for 2,020 yards with 14 touchdowns and five interceptions as a senior, also running for 252 yards on 115 carries (2.2 avg) with 11 touchdowns ... Passed for 324 yards with 5 touchdowns in one game ... As a junior, completed 199-of-360 passes for 2,930 yards with 26 touchdowns and seven interceptions and rushed for 496 yards with six scores ... Helped Chatsworth to the L.A. City baseball title in 1999 while hitting .390 with three home runs and 29 RBI as a first baseman and third baseman. ... Was a communication major at USC.

• Matt has two brothers who play professional baseball. His older brother Jack is a pitcher for the Houston Astros and his younger brother Justin is a pitcher in the Chicago White Sox system. Matt was also selected in the Major League Baseball draft, picked in the 36th round in 2004 by the Oakland Athletics.
• Matt played in the Little League World Series in 1994. His Northridge, Calif. team made it to the finals of the tournament.