Matt Cassel's Updated 2015 Fantasy Outlook After Being Named Cowboys' Starter

Just because the Dallas Cowboys are forced to rely on Matt Cassel as their starting quarterback doesn't mean your fantasy football team should suffer the same fate.  

ESPN.com's Ed Werder first reported the Cowboys were looking to switch from Brandon Weeden to Cassel following their Week 6 bye, a decision since confirmed by USA Today's Tom Pelissero.

"He's started games in this league, he's won games in this league," said Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett about Cassel on Wednesday, per Rob Phillips of DallasCowboys.com. "A lot of different things he brings to the table."

Albert Breer of NFL Network is optimistic Cassel will represent an improvement under center for Dallas:

CBSSports.com's Pete Prisco, on the other hand, considers this a lateral move:

Unless you're in a 20-team league or one that only allows NFC players, Cassel shouldn't really be on your radar. Even if wide receiver Dez Bryant returns by Week 7, which is a possibility, too much evidence points to the 33-year-old quarterback being a fantasy nonentity.

In a head-to-head comparison, Cassel boasts slightly better numbers than Weeden, but the difference isn't all that significant:

	Comp. %	YPG	YPA	TD%	INT%
Weeden	57.7%	192.4	6.7	3.0%	3.3%
Cassel	59.0%	172.8	6.6	4.1%	3.0%

To a certain extent, you could argue the systems in place with the Kansas City Chiefs stunted Cassel's potential in his prime years. Having Todd Haley and Romeo Crennel as your head coaches isn't likely to boost a QB's numbers.

But we're also talking about the same player who couldn't beat out Christian Ponder for the Minnesota Vikings' starting job ahead of the 2013 season.

Maybe Cassel rolls back the years and plays like it's 2010. Still, he only ranked 12th at his position in points that year on NFL.com. At his peak, which was five years ago, Cassel was a low-end QB1. Can anybody really expect him to eclipse that ceiling now?

Cassel's value will likely be primarily in daily fantasy leagues for players who want to save money at QB. The Cowboys' matchup might play in his favor, thus leading you to believe he could be in for a big day.

Otherwise, don't consider snagging Cassel off of the waiver wire unless he puts a few strong performances together. Chances are, he'll still be there around Weeks 8 or 9.