30 worst quarterbacks who actually made the Pro Bowl, and what went wrong after

14. Matt Cassell - Kansas City Chiefs
2010 Season

Matt Cassel was known as the most prolific backup in football. Not just in the NFL, Cassel was somehow drafted despite being the backup his entire college career. He was behind Heisman Trophy winners Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart. New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick took a chance on Leinart with a seventh-round pick, and it worked out. 

Cassel’s most famous season was the year he took over the 18-1 Patriots team when Tom Brady went down in Week 1. He was able to get 11 wins with that team, but it was an insane year and that wasn’t enough to make the playoffs. The Patriots were able to move Cassel in the offseason to the Kansas City Chiefs (along with Mike Vrabel) for a second-round pick. 

It’s with KC that Cassel hit his stride, becoming the lockdown starter after Tyler Thigpen was traded to the Dolphins. Cassel had a really good season in 2010, throwing for more than 3,000 yards and a career-high 27 touchdowns. He also only had seven interceptions. He didn’t make the Pro Bowl initially, but he was named an alternate, ironically, for Tom Brady. 

After that season, injuries started to creep up. He never again played 10 games. After winning just one of his eight starts in 2012, the Chiefs knew it was time to find a new signal caller again. For the next six seasons, he went back to what he did best: backing up the starting quarterback.