Longtime friends Tom Brady, Matt Cassel to face each other on the field for the 1st time

FILE - In this Sept. 7, 2014, file photo, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) looks to pass during the first half of an NFL football game against the Miami Dolphins, in Miami Garden, Fla. Matt Cassel owes a lot of his NFL career to Tom Brady, who mentored him in New England and unexpectedly gave him his first chance to start in 2008 when he went down with a knee injury in the season opener. Cassel will start against Brady for the first time this Sunday, Sept. 14, 2014, when the Minnesota Vikings host the Patriots. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, File) (The Associated Press)

FILE - In this Aug. 23, 2014, file photo, Minnesota Vikings quarterback Matt Cassel throws a pass against the Kansas City Chiefs during the first half of an NFL preseason football game in Kansas City, Mo. Cassel owes a lot of his NFL career to Tom Brady, who mentored him in New England and unexpectedly gave him his first chance to start in 2008 when he went down with a knee injury in the season opener. Cassel will start against Brady for the first time this Sunday, Sept. 14, 2014, when the Minnesota Vikings host the Patriots. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File) (The Associated Press)

Tom Brady and Matt Cassel have been close friends for going on 10 years now.

When the Patriots visit Minnesota on Sunday, the two quarterbacks will face each other on the field for the first time.

Brady and Cassel developed that friendship during Cassel's first four seasons in the league with the Patriots. Cassel stepped in for the injured Brady in 2008 and helped the Patriots finish the season 10-5.

He left after that season for a starting job in Kansas City before landing in Minnesota. Even though Cassel has been gone for six years, he says the two have remained close.

Cassel says he credits Brady for helping him grow from a seventh-round draft pick into an NFL starter.

___

Online:

AP NFL websites: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL