If the Patriots put the franchise tag on Matt Cassel, the team will be spending more than $28 million on quarterbacks next season — out of $123 million allotted for the entire team under salary-cap restrictions. Moreover, the team could be spending $65 million on just seven players next season, reports Tom Curran of NBC Sports:

Making things even tighter for the Pats is the fact that several other key players also have ballooning cap numbers in 2009. Unless restructuring is done, Brady, Cassel, Richard Seymour, Randy Moss, Adalius Thomas, Matt Light and Jarvis Green have 2009 cap hits that add up to approximately $65 million. That would leave New England with just $58 million to pay for the other 46 men on the roster. Currently, the Patriots have about $101 million allocated to 44 players. If they franchise Cassel, that will be close to $115 million for 45.