With Tom Brady now expected to be ready for the start of the 2009 season, speculation has increased that the Patriots might look to place quarterback Matt Cassel on the block. "Would you take a Mark Sanchez or a [Matthew] Stafford out of college in the first round, or would you take a Matt Cassel, who has won big games, is 11-5 already, and has experience under his belt for a first-rounder? You'd take Matt Cassel, I would think," former coach Steve Mariucci said. "He's a healthy young guy who has experience. So yeah, he's a first-round [pick] easy. More than a first round. First and something else." Mariucci, who has a reputation of working with solid quarterbacks, continued to praise Cassel. "I would put a high value on him, but keep in mind that he's a young quarterback playing on a very good team," he said. "Ben Roethlisberger was 15-1 as a rookie playing on a very good team. Not often does a youngster at quarterback have that advantage. [Cassel] was fortunate to play on a championship, dynasty type team and be 11-5, a terrific job. You put him on a bad team, and obviously he's not going to be as productive. But he showed some physical skills that were very encouraging. He showed some savvy. Maturity. He did a good job handling the media and handling the situation there with Tom Brady. Those type of things add up, they're all positives."