MINNEAPOLIS - The Minnesota Vikings and the Buffalo Bills agreed on a trade Wednesday that will send quarterback Matt Cassel to the Bills next week and give the Vikings extra draft picks.
The Bills are sending two undisclosed draft choices to the Vikings and getting one undisclosed pick in the deal announced six days before NFL transactions can begin with the start of the new league year.
The trade can't be completed until then, but the announcement wouldn't have been made if there were any potential roadblocks pending.
The trade also wouldn't have been initiated had the Vikings not been confident in Teddy Bridgewater, the first-round draft pick who took over as the starter in the third game of last season after Cassel broke his left foot.
Cassel spent two years with the Vikings, taking over in 2013 after Christian Ponder struggled to keep the job. Cassel's production was up and down, with a total of 14 touchdown passes and 14 turnovers in 12 games, but his experienced, encouraging presence was valuable to have around while Bridgewater got his career going.
That'll be the goal for the Bills, too, with Cassel starting his 11th NFL season and E.J. Manuel still in the developmental stage. This was their "Plan B," after a failed bid to sign free agent Josh McCown last week. McCown instead chose the Cleveland Browns, who gave him a three-year contract.
Bills running back Fred Jackson was excited by Cassel's addition because it brings an element of competition.
"It's one of those things where it's going to bring their game to the next level," Jackson told the Associated Press by phone from New York City, where he was being presented with the Jefferson Award for Public Service. "And whoever wins that position, they have to be at their best in order for us to win games. And it's going to be fun to watch."
Buffalo entered the offseason with Manuel as the only quarterback on the roster after Kyle Orton announced his retirement a day after the season ended. Manuel has been inconsistent, with difficulty staying healthy since his selection in the first round of the 2013 draft.
The trade for Cassel came on the heels of a blockbuster move the Bills agreed to Tuesday night, a deal with the Philadelphia Eagles to acquire running back LeSean McCoy in exchange for linebacker Kiko Alonso.
In January, the Bills took a gamble to upgrade their offensive line by signing guard Richie Incognito, who had been out of football since the middle of the 2013 season for his involvement in a bullying scandal with the Miami Dolphins.
Fox Sports reported the Bills will send their fifth-round pick this year and a seventh-round selection in 2016 to the Vikings, who will give their 2015 sixth-round pick to the Bills. The Bills were already without a first-round or a fourth-round selection in the 2015 draft.