Matt Cassel is back with the Buffalo Bills.
The team announced Tuesday that Cassel has re-signed with the Bills, three days after the veteran quarterback was released.
Contract terms were not disclosed, but it can be assumed Cassel took a pay cut to return to Orchard Park. Cassel will be Buffalo's second-string quarterback behind starter Tyrod Taylor, the team announced, with EJ Manuel relegated to third string. Cassel said he was surprised the Bills cut him Saturday while trimming their roster to 53 players.
"It's a long story," Cassel told reporters, via ESPN.com. "I think it's better if (the Bills) explained it. I was caught a little bit off guard myself. But like I said, at the end of the day, we were able to resolve it and I'm able to be here and now the important thing is for us to get ready to go, for me to help Tyrod (Taylor) and to get this team ready to go to play Indy."
Cassel appeared to be a frontrunner for the starting job when he was acquired from the Vikings in a March trade, but Cassel was outplayed by both Taylor and Manuel in the preseason. Bills coach Rex Ryan had expressed the desire to keep three quarterbacks this season, and the team has now made that happen.
Cassel said re-signing with the Bills made the most sense for him at this stage of his career.
"Obviously there were opportunities to go other places and things like that, but at the same time, when you look at this situation and the hard work that went into it this entire offseason, I thought it was the best place for me," Cassel said.
In a corresponding move, the Bills released rookie tight end Nick O'Leary, who is living proof that surviving the 53-man cutdown guarantees you nothing in life.