Broncos Now Officially Looking to Trade Jay Cutler

By: Francosil



So it's official. Jay Cutler has stated he does not want to play for the Denver Broncos this upcoming season.

This all started when Josh McDaniels tried to make a move to acquire the quarterback from his prior team, Matt Cassel of the New England Patriots. McDaniels worked with Cassel the previous year when Tom Brady went down with a season-ending knee injury. Josh McDaniels was the offensive coordinator who liked Matt Cassel so much, he was willing to part with Denver's 25 year old, Probowl quarterback, Jay Cutler, to get him. A deal was in place that would send Cassel to Denver, Cutler to a team like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers/Detroit Lions, while the Bucs/Lions send multiple draft picks and/or players to New England.

The thought of this trade had Cutler outraged. He then felt he was not welcome in Denver anymore. And who could blame him? New England's former offensive coordinator wanted to come in and get rid of Cutler, who set a franchise record in passing yards in a season, for a career backup quarterback who hadn't started a game since highschool and took a former 16-0 Patriots team to an 11-5 season record. Cutler had the right to be dissapointed.

After all, it looked like McDaniels was trying to turn the Broncos into the Patriots v2. He released long time Bronco long-snapper Mike Leach, to sign New Englands free-agent long-snapper Lonie Paxton to a 5 year, 5.38 million dollar contract. The saying, "If it aint broke, don't fix it" came to mind. Leach was making significantly less than Paxton will be making, and you never heard of Leach in the news which means he was doing his job: snapping the ball on field goals and punts. Other former Patriot free agent signings include WR Jabar Gaffney and RB Lamont Jordan.

So what does all this mean? Cutler is unhappy with his coach, and demands a trade. At first, I thought it was just a bluff for a contract extension by his agent, Bus Cook. After all, Cutler is still playing on his rookie contract, and would like a pay increase similar to the likes of Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, and ironically enough, Matt Cassel (around 10-12 million/year). But it seems serious now. The Broncos are now granting Jay Cutler's wish and are beginning to look for trade partners.

Cutler is probably on his way out of Denver, so let's take a look at where he could possibly land, in order of likeliness.

1. Detroit Lions- Still on their never-ending search for a quarterback, the Lions could make a move at Cutler with their many quality draft picks. Although Cutler throwing to Calvin Johnson may look scary, Jay will be missing the Bronco's offensive line very much. If this happens, the Lions would be looking to give up many draft picks. Some say they may have to give up two first round picks which means Denver will have to either take a QB in the draft this year (Matt Stafford from Georgia or Mark Sanchez from USC), or go with Chris Simms for a year and take their shot at a QB next year with promising QBs possibly entering the draft in Texas QB Colt Mccoy, Oklahoma's Sam Bradford, and Florida's Tim Tebow.

2. Cleveland Browns- It has been rumoured that the Browns are a potential sutor, even with a QB battle on the roster between Derek Anderson and Brady Quinn. A possible idea for a trade would be Cutler for Brady Quinn and possibily draft picks. This would also allow Cleveland to ship off Derek Anderson to a team like the Bucs or Jets for nothing less than a fourth round draft pick. Another possible scenario is to also throw in Bronco tight-end Tony Scheffler, who also has Bus Cook as his agent. This is because McDaniels scheme for offense does not involve a pass-catching tight-end, but rather a blocking tightend, which Denver already has in Daniel Graham. This leaves Scheffler the odd man out, and with the Browns shipping away Kellen Winslow this offseason to the Buccaneers, this could be a potentiol block-buster trade in the works.

3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers- Another team looking for a star quarterback, the Buccaneers looked to be a few offensive pieces away from a legit superbowl run last year. They recently inked star WR Antonio Bryant, a tall, athletic wideout, and traded for talented TE Kellin Winslow, both quality weapons for Cutler to possibly work with. They also signed RB Derrick Ward to split the running duties with Earnest Graham. With Jay Cutler at QB, this team looks like a serious contender to make it deep in the playoffs.

4. New York Jets- The Jets have been confirmed to have interest in acquiring Jay Cutler. Jets fans are used to the gunslinging mentality at QB, since they had Brett Favre running the show last year. Cutler has been compared to Favre for their strong arm and trust in themselves to make tough throws. New headcoach Rex Ryan could be looking to make a move for the young quarterback to possibly give the Jets a shot at the very competitve AFC East with the Dolphins recent playoff appearance and the Bills staying close behind with the Terrell Owens signing. The AFC East looks to be a tough division to play in the 2009/2010 season.

5. Minnesota Vikings- Although the Vikings have expressed they have no interest in acquiring Jay Cutler, I beleive they are a quarterback away from a legit superbowl run. They have the defense in place and a great running game with Adrian Peterson. All they need is a talented quarterback and a WR in the draft to go deep in the postseason. Although the Vikings have stated they will let Tvaris Jackson and Sage Rosenfels battle for the quarterback spot this year, they may take a run at Cutler if the price is right.

A deal that I would want to see happen would be to ship Cutler and possibly Tony Scheffler to the Lions for draft picks. A trade that would is reasonable and could happen would look like this:

To Detroit:
QB Jay Cutler
TE Tony Scheffler
Broncos First round pick, 12th overall
Broncos Third Round pick in 2010 draft
Broncos Fourth round pick, 114th overall

To Denver:
Lions First round pick, 1st overall
Lions First round pick in 2010 draft
Lions Second round pick, 33rd overall
Lions Third/Fourth round pick in 2010 draft (depending on Cutlers play/Lions record)

This would give Detroit two major proven offensive weapons in an already bright offense with WR Calvin Johnson, RB Kevin Smith, and OT Gosder Cherilius. It also leaves the Lions the 12th and 20th picks in the first round which they can take an offensive tackle, with many prospects to choose from (Jason Smith from Baylor, Eugene Monroe from Virginia, Andre Smith from Alabama, or Michael Oher from Mississippi).

From Denver's perspective, they get rid of Jay Cutler and Tony Scheffler who didn't fit, both having Bus Cook as their agent, and they receive quality draft picks needed to build their defense. This leaves Denver with many picks to rebuild their aging defense. Players like BJ Raji, Aaron Curry, James Laurinaitis and Clay Matthews come to mind. They can also use Detroits first round pick next year on a QB such as Sam Bradford or Colt Mccoy.