After letting the Denver Bronco’s trade of Jay Cutler to the Chicago Bears stew for a couple of weeks, I finally feel it’s the appropriate time to discuss the NFL’s biggest move so far this offseason.

When the whole fiasco began, I will be the first to admit that I placed all of the blame on new Head Coach Josh McDaniels. I felt he came in right away and was trying to stir the pot too early. After McDaniels and Bronco ownership denied even entertaining the thought of trading their Pro Bowl quarterback, I couldn’t help but feel that Cutler was getting the short end of the stick.

From that point on though, Cutler didn’t exactly make the right moves either. Sure, he had every right to feel shafted, but I think he needed to realize that the NFL is a business and that no one’s job is guaranteed. I thought it was childish of him to put his Denver home up on the market and it was equally distasteful for his parents to do the same. Obviously, he didn’t plan on staying a Bronco player though, so I guess it didn’t really matter.

With all the crap hitting the fan early on in the ordeal, there was finally a lull in the Cutler vs. McDaniels saga. Cutler had chosen not to attend voluntary workouts and that was fine. But then, there was a glimmer of hope for Bronco fans everywhere. McDaniels came out and said: “He’s our quarterback. We can’t predict the future. He’s our quarterback, we want him to be our quarterback, we made that very clear to him and we hope he feels the same way.”

With that simple statement, I could swear Cutler was still going to be a Bronco by the time next season rolled around. At that point, with McDaniels showing his public approval for Cutler, the ball was now in the quarterback’s hands. He could’ve either tried to patch the relationship, matching the new head coach’s enthusiasm, or he could’ve continued with his request for a trade. By now, we know the decision that was made.

Eventually, the Denver ownership couldn’t take it any longer. It was reported that they were finally going to give in to Cutler’s request for a trade. Supposedly, they had attempted to reach him for nearly 10 days without receiving a response, so they knew it was time to move on. According to Cutler, no members of the Bronco’s organization had attempted to reach him or his owner, but that’s a he said, she said argument so I will leave it at that.

Knowing the trade was coming, I was certain that Cutler would either end up a Detroit Lion or a Cleveland Brown. It made sense that the Lions could trade their No. 1 overall draft pick for Cutler, a proven quarterback. Instead of taking a chance on big-armed Matt Stafford, they would’ve been inheriting a Pro Bowl quarterback who has already shown he’s the real deal in a short period of time.

In the other scenario, I would’ve preferred that Cutler be traded to the Browns for Brady Quinn and draft picks. While his potential has yet to be reached at the NFL level, I would’ve been comfortable giving the golden boy his shot in Denver. Still, others think Cleveland would’ve given up Anderson instead, but who knows now. Either way, I think it would have been better than the eventual trade the Broncos made.

Putting an end to the saga however on April 3, Cutler and this year’s fifth-round pick were traded to the Chicago Bears in exchange for quarterback Kyle Orton and first-round picks in 2009 (18^th overall) and 2010, along with a third-round pick in 2009.

With the trade completed, I can’t help but determine that the Chicago Bears won the trade, at least in the short term. After putting up with inconsistent quarterbacks like Rex Grossman and Kyle Orton, they finally have a franchise quarterback they can look to the future with. If Devin Hester can miraculously boost his skills as a wide receiver, and if the Bears can grab a standout wide receiver in the draft, I think the trade will pay off dividends.

On the Broncos side of the ball, they are now stuck with two decent veteran quarterbacks, but neither is anything to write home about. Depending on how McDaniel’s new system works out, Orton might turn out to be the man for the job after all, but only time will tell.
With the draft picks received from the trade, Denver will have the opportunity to greatly bolster a defense that has been stagnant for the past couple of seasons. Still, it’s damn near impossible to tell if a rookie defender will be able to come in and immediately help out on a NFL squad.

I know this is far-fetched, but I’m going to throw it out there anyway. Because of the draft picks they received from the Bears, it does give them the opportunity to trade their No. 12 pick and move up in the draft to take a quarterback. With that said, I have a feeling they might trade up to acquire Mark Sanchez. People might think that would be crazy because most people aren’t confident in Sanchez’s ability. But, flash back to when Cutler was picked up by the Broncos. People said the same things about him and look how he turned out.

Either way, the removal of Cutler automatically makes the Broncos a worse team then they were last season. With the schedule out, the AFC West has to play the big dogs in the NFC East, so we will quickly see how the new-look Broncos will compete. They might surprise everyone and win the division. They might meet everyone’s expectations though and crash and burn. At this point though, who knows? Only time will tell.

Written By: Ketcham While They’re Hot

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