The Jay Cutler Saga, Part 2

"The Possibilites Were Endless"

During the few days between when the Broncos announced they would definitely trade Jay Cutler and when it was confirmed Cutler went to the Bears, I had been planning to write something on where I thought he might go and where I wanted him to go. Unfortunately, the trade happened much quicker than I anticipated, but here's what I was thinking at the time:

Where I wanted Cutler to go:
1. Jets/Browns
2. Redskins
3. Bears

Where I thought Cutler might go:
1. Bucs
2. Lions
3. Redskins

New York Jets/Cleveland Browns
Although Cutler could have gone to either of these two teams, I treat them as one possibility. One of the early rumors involved Cutler to the Jets, New York draft picks to Cleveland, and Brady Quinn to the Broncos. Or Cutler could have gone straight to the Browns for Quinn (which I considered less likely because they still have Derek Anderson). The Broncos certainly would have wanted more than just Quinn in this scenario and defensive tackle Shaun Rogers could have complemented Denver's wretched D.
These two (essentially the same) scenarios were my number one choice for Denver. Above all, if Cutler left, I believed Denver needed a new quarterback- Chris Simms would not cut it. I wanted this quarterback to be a young guy, one that McDaniels could mold and integrate into his system. Quinn was the ideal candidate. Playing at Notre Dame under Charlie Weis, another ex-Patriot, Quinn already had experience with the type of offense McDaniels would be interested in.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Along with Detroit, Tampa Bay was the rumored destination in the original three-way trade talks that involved giving away Cutler in order to reunite McDaniels and Matt Cassell. The Bucs desperately needed a QB (and still do). After they made their original move for Cutler and failed, howeverm the Bucs gave their 2nd round pick to Cleveland for tight end Kellen Winslow and thus didn't have much to offer Denver. As the final trade with Chicago showed, the Bucs' 19th overall pick wouldn't have cut it. I still expected the Bucs to offer the Broncos everything they had for Cutler.

Detroit Lions
It is clear Detroit needs a quarterback. They also have the first overall pick in the draft (as well as the 20th). These are powerful bargaining chips, as McDaniels could have used the first overall pick on Matthew Stafford from Georgia. The number one pick comes with a lot of risk for the money though, and McDaniels' quarterback experience has been primarily with later picks (Brady and Cassell). I didn't really think this move was too likely, but there were a lot of NFC North rumblings and I thought the Lions had the most to give of the three NFC North teams interested (Minnsota and Chicago being the other two).

Washington Redskins
For a while, I really started to think Cutler might go to the Redskins. The lack of a good franchise quarterback had been a long standing problem for the 'Skins, and they are known for pursuing big name players. The Wahington Post published an article claiming Washington was gunning hard for this to happen. There were even rumors and speculation the coach Jim Zorn could be replaced by Mike Shanahan in 2010, reuniting with Cutler, though I think speculating that far in advance is idle fantasy. Despite the Shanhan talk, Cutler for Campbell made sense. Campbell struggled to acclimate to Zorn's West Coast style of play, an environment in which Cutler thrived. The Redskins also had some draft picks to throw in, but these were still not enough for Denver.
The interesting outcome of the Cutler-Skins hype will be how Jason Campbell handles his job insecurity. Recall that it was trade rumors that caused this whole Cutler mess. So far, Campbell seems to be handling it with a greater maturity than Cutler did.

Those were my thoughts prior to the trade going down. Post-trade, the only questions that remain of course are the implications for Denver and for Chicago. But that's coming in Part Three.