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The Bears are shopping Jay Cutler. The announcement was made by ESPN’s Jeff Darlington and NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport.
This has been going on for about a month.
So with this story breaking, the Jets are right at the top of the Cutler-suitor-list in the rumor mill.
This is for two reasons. First off, they need a starting QB for 2017. Secondly, the Jets new QB coach Jeremy Bates coached Cutler in both Denver and Chicago, and they have a good relationship.
Look, I don’t know if the Jets are going to trade for Cutler. I’d be lying if I told you that.
And plus, they might not have to trade for him. He could eventually be released if there is no trade partner.
But the point I want to make is simple. If Jets offensive coordinator John Morton and Bates think the Jets should bring Cutler in, the team’s brass should take a long, hard look at him.
As we have pointed out over and over again, there is a dearth of top-shelf QB talent in the NFL. There isn’t a Tom Brady tree farm where you can go Brady picking.
Most of the league needs to settle for middle-tier, serviceable quarterbacks.
So that means the Jets need to go out and get Cutler, Brian Hoyer, Mike Glennon, A.J. McCarron, Case Keenum, Chase Daniel – you name the guy.
Whether Jets fans want to hear this or not, this is the reality of the NFL QB landscape.
And one thing the Jets can’t worry about, at all, is what the fan and media reaction will be to bringing in Cutler, if that is what they chose to do.
The Jets days of governing by public opinion polls needs to be over.
They shouldn’t for one second worry about the tabloid reaction, the message board reaction, the sports talk radio reaction. That is no way to run a football operation, and has gotten them in trouble in the past.
The Darrelle Revis signing in 2015 is a perfect example of trying to govern by public opinion polls, and that move turned into an unmitigated disaster.
Cutler is coming off a rough season the ended in November due to a labrum injury in throwing shoulder. I don’t believe he needed surgery. Cutler took a beating this past season. The Bears’ offensive line wasn’t very good.
But keep in mind, in 2015, he played fairly well. Remember, a big reason why Adam Gase got the Miami Dolphins head coaching job was because of the work he did in 2015 with Cutler.
A big thing for any team considering Cutler is his medical situation. He’s had a lot of injuries over the years, and this goes back to Vanderbilt.
So any team considering this player better go over his body with a fine-tooth comb.
But the guy has rare arm talent, which would work well in the windy Meadowlands.
Look, I’m not voting either way on this one. I realize that Cutler comes with many inherit risks – like health (mental and physical) and attitude at times.
But like I’ve said ad infinitum, everyone needs to deal with reality.
Brady, Brees or Rodgers isn’t walking into One Jets Drive.
February 21, 2017
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