Jay Cutler Traded

Just about a month ago, Jay Cutler put his house in Denver up for sale. His Realtor better get busy, because as of yesterday, Jay will be living in Chicago. The Denver Broncos have officially traded Cutler and a fifth round draft pick to the Chicago Bears for Kyle Orton, the 18^th overall pick this year, their third round pick (84^th overall), and their first round choice in 2010. The Bears decided that it was time to get a franchise quarterback. The Broncos decided it was time to get rid of a player who was causing them off-season headaches.

This trade has been in the making since the start of free agency on February 27^th. Rumors flew around that the new head coach in Denver, Josh McDaniels, had tried to send Cutler to Tampa Bay as part of a three way deal that would have landed Matt Cassel in the mile high city. Word leaked back to Denver after Cassel was traded to Kansas City that Cutler had been trade fodder and the Pro-Bowl quarterback didn't much appreciate this. McDaniels tried to work things out with Cutler, but Cutler refused to return his calls and even text messages. When Broncos owner Pat Bowlen tried to contact Cutler, he got the same results. Finally, after multiple attempts to quell Jay's hurt feelings had failed, the Broncos decided to cut their losses and see what they could get in return. The Broncos had many teams interested, but decided to make sure he was traded outside the AFC so they would only face him once every 4 years unless it was a Super Bowl match up.

McDaniels has an interesting taste in quarterbacks, often valuing their intangible assets more than the measurable ones. McDaniels may have his man in Orton or in free agent signing Chris Simms, or he may look to draft one of the young quarterbacks in this year's draft. He was very excited about the signing of Simms who looked promising before a devastating spleen injury nearly ended his career. Simms has fought back, but questions remain if he can be as good as he was prior to not playing for a couple of seasons. Reports are that the Washington Redskins had a similar offer to the Broncos, but the staff decided that Orton was a better option than Jason Campbell.

For what it's worth, Orton has a better record than Cutler as a starter. He may not have the stats or the measurable characteristics, but he has found ways to win games. Had it not been for a high ankle sprain, he would have probably had the Bears in the playoffs last season. Playing behind a weak line and throwing to mediocre receivers didn't help his statistics. Orton did have rookie running back Matt Forte who was a big help in the backfield. Perhaps he will have better luck in the Mile High City.

As for Cutler, he heads to Chicago after playing behind a solid line in Denver and throwing to two young stud receivers (Brandon Marshall and Eddie Royal). He will not have the weapons in Chicago, although the Bears improved their offensive line with the signing of Orlando Pace. He will have a solid running back there (not like the 7 guys that Denver had to put on the IR last year). Chicago's defense is better than Denver's, but they are a far cry from the defense that took the Bears to the Super Bowl only a couple of years ago.

In the end, I think that Chicago gave up a lot, but got a good quarterback in return. Denver got a guy who will compete for the starting job and two first round draft picks, not to mention moving up from a fifth round pick to a third. Both got a lot out of this trade and what remains to be seen is if Chicago profits more from Jay or Denver prospers with their two middle of the first round draft picks and Kyle. Both teams seem to have won for now, but this may be similar to the Hershel Walker trade of years ago in that it seems like a good deal at the time, but the true winner will be determined over time.