Patriots Blog: Ties To KC, Ventrone Returns
FOXBORO (CBS) - The Kansas City Chiefs should be called the Patriots of the mid West.
There are so many players and coaches that have ties with New England, it's ridiculous. Here are just a few of the ties the teams share:
Romeo Crennel -- Chiefs defensive coordinator held the same position in New England from 2001-2004; was also defensive line coach for Patriots from 1993-1996.
Matt Cassel -- Injured quarterback was a seventh-round draft choice of Patriots in 2005 and played with the team from 2005-2008.
Anthony Pleasant -- Defensive line coach played for Patriots from 2001-2003.
Maurice Carthon -- Chiefs assistant head coach was a Patriots offensive assistant (1994-95) and running backs coach (1996)
Scott Pioli -- General manager served as Patriots VP of Player Personnel from 2000-2008.
While Matt Cassel is out for Sunday's matchup, the Patriots still took the time to reflect on their former backup, and 2008 starter that led them to an 11-5 record when Tom Brady went down.
Read: Levan Reid's Patriots Blog
"It sucks to be injured," said Brady on Wednesday. "There's nobody that goes through a football season that doesn't get injured, you just really hope it's not really a permanent injury. [Cassel is] a tough guy, he's tough as anybody I've been around. So it's disappointing for him that he won't be able to be out there."
"Cassel is a great, great guy. He is a good football player," said nose tackle Vince Wilfork. "I'm just sad he ended getting hurt. I wish him all the luck."
Tyler Palko will get the snaps for the Chiefs. We'll have more on him this weekend.
Ventrone Returns... Again.
The Patriots have made 16 transactions since January that have involved Ross Ventrone. On Thursday, he was once again signed to the practice squad.
Ventrone was waived from the 53-man roster on Tuesday to make room for offensive lineman Marcus Cannon. He currently has one tackle this season, which game in Week 5 against the Jets.
Don't be surprised if he is activated to the 53-man roster again before Monday night's game. And then released again on Tuesday...
Follow Levan Reid on Twitter @LevanReid
