Reports surfaced last night that the Denver Broncos made a hard push to land quarterback Matt Cassel, offering up their first round pick (12th overall) for the QB, with the offer contingent on the Broncos first trading Pro Bowl quarterback, Jay Cutler. The likely destination for Cutler was the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (although the Lions were apparently trying to orchestrate a similar deal) in exchange for a package of high round draft picks.

Instead, as we reported yesterday, Cassel was traded to the Kansas City Chiefs along with Mike Vrabel for a 2nd round pick (34th overall).

Needless to say, the report has sent shock-waves through the rest of the league. Jay Cutler is reportedly more than a bit peeved and has apparently requested permission to pursue trade partners on his own and the Buccaneers, Lions, and just about anyone else that could use a franchise QB is said to be keeping tabs on the situation.

And then of course, there’s the question of why the Patriots would pass on a first round pick for Cassel and then package him with Vrabel for a 2nd rounder. Adding an extra layer of intrigue is the fact that both the Broncos and the Chiefs are home to ex-Patriot personel. Former Patriot offensive coordinator, Josh McDaniels, is the new head coach in Denver and Mike Pioli, former Patriots GM, is the new GM in Kansas City.

Jay Marrioti, a sportswriter who seems to crave the spotlight, is calling for Commissioner Roger Goodell to investigate the Patriots-Chiefs trade, arguing the Pats didn’t get enough for the QB they used their franchise tag on this year. While Marrioti has a history of wanting to hear himself speak, the trade does seem a bit suspect. The return for Cassel and Vrabel seemed a bit lacking at the time the deal was announced and if the Patriots passed up a first-round pick from Denver to settle for a sencond-round pick from KC it impossible to justify.  Plus, Patriots coach Bill Belichick has a history of bending the rules with the whole “Spygate” fiasco.

As if the conspiracy theorists and Patriot haters out there needed more to fuel the fire, nearly two months ago, ESPN writer Tim Graham asked former Titans GM, Floyd Reese what he thought it would take for a team to land Cassel. He replied “It would have to be multiple choices and very high choices to get Cassel. Two first-rounders, or a one and a two and a three … It’ll be something very, very expensive.” Why does this matter? Because Reese is now the senior football adviser for the New England Patriots.

Despite the mounting pile of circumstantial evidence, the entire conspiracy theory requires the acceptance of one fact that many in the football world will have a hard time swallowing: that Bill Belichick would knowingly take an action against his team’s best interest. While Belichick has the reputation of being fiercly loyal to former Patriots personel, he also has the reputation of wanting to win more than anyone else in the game. Can anyone picture Belichick passing up a first round pick, even to do a favor for an old friend.

The more likely, and less sinister scenario would be that the deal fell apart for some other unknown reason. Maybe Broncos weren’t happy with the return being offered for Cutler and decided not to trade the 3rd leading passer in the league last year. In any case, public perception has a nasty habit of becoming reality. So, if for no other reason than to make sure this story doesn’t dominate the sport like “Spygate” did, Goodell should indeed investigate the situation and find out what actually happened.

Could the Patriots have gotten more for Cassel? Will Goodell investigate the trade? Can the Broncos mend their relationship with Cutler or will they be forced to trade the quarterback?

All those questions remain unanswered but one thing is for sure, an already busy NFL offseason was just sent into overdrive. Sit back and enjoy the ride.

The Patriots had tagged Cassel as their franchise player which guarantees the QB $14.65 million next year. Vrabel was one of the leaders of the Patriots defense and made a name for himself on the offensive side of the ball as well occasionally catching TD passes as a tight end.

While Patriots fans are likely to miss Vrabel, who was with the team for all three of their Super Bowl wins, the fact that they were willing to part ways with Cassel certainly seems to suggest that they don’t expect to be without Tom Brady for much if any of the season. Cassel had spent his career as a backup until Brady went down with a torn ACL and MCL in the first game of last year. The USC product stepped up and threw for 21 TD and over 3400 yards.

The two (now former) Patriots will be reunited with GM Scott Pioli who was hired in KC this year after spending the past 9 in New England.

The team is also reportedly close to a deal with longtime Eagle safety, Brian Dawkins, who’s on his way to Denver to visit the team.

Buckhalter and Arrington have spent thee majority of their careers as backups, but will likely split the carries in Denver’s backfield. Gaffney, the former Patriot wideout, was inked to a 4 year $10 million deal and will give Jay Cutler another reliable target alongside Brandon Marshall and impressive rookie Eddie Royal.

The Broncos also signed former Dolphin safety Renaldo Hill and Patriots long snapper Lonie Paxton in a busy day of free agent spending.