This wasn’t what the Buffalo Bills were expecting when they sent a fifth round pick to the Vikings in exchange for veteran QB Matt Cassel.

According to ESPN’s Mike Rodak, the journeyman Cassel has been a disappointment thus far in Buffalo and at the moment it appears the former Viking could have a tough time even making the squad:

I would give EJ Manuel the slight nod as the “winner” from spring practices but Cassel was the clear “loser” of the group. There wasn’t a practice open to reporters where Cassel stood out among his peers, while there were at least one or two sessions where he was just downright bad. I went into OTAs thinking Cassel had the best chance to be the opening day starter, given his level of experience, but I now question if he will make the roster.

That Cassel has struggled so far shouldn’t be too big a surprise when you consider all the time he missed last year with injury. After basically doing nothing for the final three months of the season, Cassel was bound to be a tad rusty coming out of the gate in 2015.

If Cassel fails to knock the rust off in training camp and indeed becomes a surprise veteran cut, the Bills would save $4.15 million off their cap. And the narrative in Minnesota will be that Rick Spielman “fleeced” the Bills by getting back a fifth round pick for the washed-up QB.

Because of course Spielman the seer knew ahead of time that Cassel would come out in 2015 and look like crap.

I wouldn’t get ahead of myself in declaring Cassel dead, however. Give him a chance to knock the rust off and I bet he returns to the old Cassel form: adequate, unspectacular and wholly professional. In other words, good enough to beat out E.J. Manuel.