Tue, Oct 28, 2014 at 11:42am

NEW ENGLAND NABS LB CASILLAS FROM TAMPA BAY

The New England Patriots acquired linebacker Jonathan Casillas and a sixth-round draft pick in 2015 from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for a fifth-round draft pick in 2015.

What does it give the New England Patriots
Casillas has been a part-time starter throughout his career, and he has the ability to legitimately line up at several different linebacker positions. The big question for the Patriots is how healthy he'll be the rest of the season (as Casillas hasn't played since Week 5 due to multiple nagging injuries). If Casillas can stay healthy, he should provide ready rotational value in the New England linebacker corps (needed after the season-ending injury to {P Jerod Mayo}), plus help on special teams.

What does it give the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Since Week 4, {P Danny Lansanah} has been very solid as a starter for the Bucs' linebacker group, making Casillas expendable. As with the recent trade of {P=13400 Mark Barron}, moving Casillas appears to be a cost-cutting move for a Tampa Bay defense that can't seem to get much worse this season. The upgrade of one round in the draft isn't much compensation, but again, Casillas wasn't a core player for Tampa Bay.

Fantasy impact
Lansanah gets a minor boost in fantasy value for the rest of the season, but only because Casillas won't be returning to Tampa Bay's lineup to steal snaps. Meanwhile in New England, Casillas doesn't project as a starter right away; so fantasy owners in leagues featuring individual defensive players have little reason to consider adding him to their rosters.