The New England Patriots have surprised no one by slapping the franchise tag on free-agent-to-be Matt Cassel.

If the Patriots choose to keep him, they will be charged $14.65 million, as the franchise tag grants a player the average of the top five salaries in the NFL at his position.

Depending on the rehab schedule of Tom Brady, the Pats could also opt to trade Cassel and not have some $29 million committed to one position on the team.

Cassel completed 63.4% of his passes and threw for 3,693 yards and 21 touchdowns with 11 picks while leading the team to 11 wins.

Micah Warren is a sports writer from New York and the founder of Blast's sports section and the Off the Record sports blog.