Update 9:10 PM: Cassel out 2-4 weeks. Head here for more.
We're definitely still in the unconfirmed stages of this but Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk is passing along the early word on the injury to Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Matt Cassel, who injured his leg on just the third play of Saturday night's 14-10 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.
Though the Chiefs haven't (and, until they have to submit their initial injury report, likely won't) comment on the injury suffered Saturday night by quarterback Matt Cassel, the initial scuttlebutt on the prognosis is that he has both a sprained MCL and a sprained ankle.
As we passed along this morning, initial x-rays were negative, which really doesn't mean a whole lot to us because there never was much of a fear that any bones were broken.
Jump through for a little more on MCL and ankle sprains and how long we might expect Cassel to be out IF this is indeed the scenario.
Regarding the MCL, Florio reports that a Grade I sprain would keep Cassel out of action for a few days and likely the Chiefs final preseason game on Thursday against the St. Louis Rams. A Grade II sprain is a little more severe and could keep him on the bench for several weeks which would put his availability for week one at Baltimore in question.
Regarding the rumored ankle sprain, there's no word on the severity. A high ankle sprain could potential sideline him for a couple of weeks as well.
Either way, I feel confident guessing that Cassel will not make an appearance in the final preseason game on Thursday. It's a tough decision all around.
On the one hand, you want your starting quarterback to get as many reps as possible. It's not only him entering a new offense - it's the linemen and receivers too. Everyone needs time to build confidence in each other and establish some sort of rhythm for the coming season.
On the other hand, Cassel's health should be (and is) priority numero uno at this point. He's not just the starting quarterback for the Chiefs in 2009 but also, if all goes as planned, in 2010, 2011, 2012 and so on. These early reports are unconfirmed but if his knee has any sort of damage to it, it's better to take it sloooow for precautionary reasons.
Just as a point of emphasis - this is just the early word at this point. None of this is confirmed. And, as Florio points out, it's unlikely we'll ever get any sort of clarification on his injury from the team as the team is not required to submit injury reports in the preseason. Chiefs Coach Haley told reporters last night he wasn't ready to talk about the injuries just yet.