Tyler Thigpen: The Missing Piece in The Pioli, Cassel, McDaniels, Cutler Saga

So much controversy, so little currently known.

Here's what is known: Matt Cassel is now a member of the Kansas City Chiefs and is assumed to be the starting QB for the 2009 season.

We also know that the Chiefs have a pretty capable young quarterback of their own in Tyler Thigpen. Had Cassel not been acquired by former New England executive Scott Pioli, new Chiefs head coach Todd Haley likely would have been OK to begin his first year with Thigpen, who played very well in 11 starts and 14 appearances last season.

In those games, Thigpen completed 230 of 420 passes (54 percent). That is not great, but consider that it was his first season starting, plus the Chiefs offensive line was young and the guy was under a lot of pressure.

However, the next group of numbers should impress you more. Thigpen threw for 2,608 yards and 18 touchdowns with only 12 interceptions. For a first-year QB, that is great. He also ran for 386 yards and three touchdowns. He proved to be a good athlete with a good arm and a young guy who makes good decisions.

His numbers were pretty similar to NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Matt Ryan, as a matter of fact.

I'm not going to criticize Scott Pioli for going and getting Matt Cassel, because the two know each other and Cassel was even more impressive last year than Thigpen. But I do want to know what Thigpen will do now.

Here are some of the possibilities:

Keep Thigpen

This would serve well in case one of a couple different scenarios play out.

—If the Chiefs and Cassel are unable to agree to a multi-year deal and somehow Cassel ends up somewhere else, Thigpen would again become the possible franchise QB.

—Cassel struggles without the comfort of Josh McDaniels, Randy Moss, Wes Welker, and a very good offensive line. Or he gets hurt. In either instance, Thigpen would definitely be a solid backup.

Off to Denver

Josh McDaniels and Jay Cutler are unable to settle their newfound differences and the Denver Broncos see to it that they must trade their franchise QB. If this happens, of course they would need to find a new one. Thigpen could be that guy.

Of course, if this happened, it would be interesting to find out where Cutler ends up.

Trade him

Thigpen could be traded to another team such as Tampa Bay or Detroit, who clearly need a QB. Tampa would seem to be a good fit for a couple reasons:

—First, Kellen Winslow is now a Tampa Bay Buccaneer. Thigpen learned the value of the tight end in his one year as a starting QB in Kansas City, where Tony Gonzalez was his safety valve.

—Second, new Bucs Offensive Coordinator Jeff Jagodzinski spent the past two seasons as a head coach at Boston College and coached Atlanta's Matt Ryan. Why is this relevant? First, because he helped Ryan become the third pick in last year's NFL Draft, and as mentioned before the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year.

The other reason is that, as a college coach, he learned the idea of being flexible with the offensive package and would be able to really build the offense around Thigpen's strength, assuming he proves he can be the guy.

The Detroit Lions may not be as perfect a fit, but he would have Calvin Johnson and Kevin Smith to throw and hand off to. Scott Linehan will likely employ a run-heavy scheme, which really would play to Thigpen's strength.

What will happen?

Most likely, the Chiefs keep Thigpen as insurance. That is kind of the Patriot way, as they kept Matt Cassel that whole time and developed him in case Brady ever got hurt. I think that worked out pretty well for them.

If they do trade him, how will it likely go down?

My guess is that Denver would decide it could not continue with Cutler and send him to Tampa or Detroit. Either would be a good fit, as he has the arm strength to throw to Calvin Johnson and the ability to dump short passes to a tight end like Winslow.

For compensation, it would likely be the three-team trade as was rumored just a little while prior to the Cassel trade being completed. The Chiefs would likely gain a fourth- or fifth-round pick from Detroit or Tampa Bay, while Denver gets Thigpen and Detroit/Tampa Bay get Cutler.

In any case, whatever team takes Thigpen would get a good deal, because he has a chance to be a very good quarterback.