The Jay Cutler Trade Six Years Later
Happy Anniversary Jay Cutler. Six years ago, Jerry Angelo (remember him?) made the bold move to trade a pair of first round draft picks, a third rounder and Kyle Orton to the Denver Broncos for Cutler and a fifth round pick that would turn out to be Johnny Knox. Let’s look back at the Jay Cutler trade. I remember thinking the trade was a late April Fool’s Day joke:
"I am as shocked as anyone to have typed that headline and not have it be an April Fool’s joke. Maybe the joke will be on the Bears and the words of all the naysayers and Jay Cutler haters will prove true, but at least the Bears did something and actually made a bold move in an effort to stabilize the quarterback position that his been in dire need of repair for the better part of two decades."
Was the joke on the Bears looking back at the trade six years later? It would be hard to argue that the Jay Cutler era has been anything short of a flop. When you mortgage your future the way Jerry Angelo did, you expect playoff wins, banners and rings. What have the Bears gotten in return? One playoff win against the historically worst playoff team at that time. They’ve gotten a lot of heartache in the form of interceptions, turnovers and Cutler’s “DOOOONN’TTT CAAAARE” persona that his driven fans mad.
The stats sheets will tell you that Jay Cutler is arguably the best quarterback in Chicago Bears history but the results haven’t been there. In his six seasons with the Bears, Cutler has completed 1628 passes for 18725 yards, 129 TD’s, 93 INT’s for a quarterback rating of 84.3 in 82 appearances. But the stat that matters most is 1-1 in the playoffs.
All the way back in 2009, I knew this wasn’t going to be easy:
"Perhaps it was Christmas coming late or maybe Easter coming early, with our very own JC – Jay Cutler and not Jesus Christ – the new messiah in Chicago, arriving a week early. This messiah may not have to walk on water, but given the offensive talent around him, it may be the equivalent of turning 5 loaves and 2 fishes into enough to satisfy 60,000+ followers each week on the shores of Lake Michigan. But enough with the religious metaphor for now."
Live Feed
FanSided
I was good back then, wasn’t I?!!? It’s too bad that Jerry Angelo didn’t recognize what I did. When the best offensive weapon on the team was tight end Greg Olsen and the top wide receivers were Devin Hester and Earl Bennett, we should have known better. Jerry Angelo should have known better. Adding Cutler was not a simple “just add water” recipe, but Angelo thought that Cutler could maintain his Pro Bowl form with no weapons and shaky protection.
The pendulum swung back in the other direction, when the Bears loaded up on weapons and went out of their way to give Cutler anything and everything he could want – a pair of monster, Pro Bowl wide receivers, a Pro Bowl running back, a top tier tight end and an offensive-minded head coach. How did that work out for you? Oh, they forgot about the defense. I remember thinking, if Cutler had even a mediocre defense, the Broncos would be a Super Bowl team. The same came true the last couple of years in Chicago.
Cutler’s problems have come full circle during his stint in Chicago and he’s got a pile of bodies to prove it. He’s cost two GM’s, two head coaches, about five offensive coordinators (Ron Turner, Mike Martz, Mike Tice and Aaron Kromer) and I don’t even know how many quarterback coaches their jobs. Will Cutler be around long enough to notch Ryan Pace, John Fox and Adam Gase as his next victims or will he get sent packing before he can add to his total of casualties?