Jay Cutler Officially Hired by Fox Sports

Jay Cutler has been officially hired by Fox Sports as an analyst. He’ll join Kevin Burkhardt.

The rumblings have been heating up now for a few weeks, but this morning it appears it is official. Jay Cutler will put down the football and pick up a microphone. He’s retiring from the NFL and joining Fox Sports as an analyst.

Cutler has finally decided that it just isn’t worth signing with another mediocre franchise to get banged around and win 4 to 6 games a year. People initially speculated that this decision may only be temporary but it appears that Cutler will officially file papers with the NFL and retire.

Cutler will join Fox this fall as part of the network’s number two team. They will have a three-man booth that includes broadcaster Kevin Burkhardt and analyst Charles Davis. Davis has been part of Fox Sports’ college football coverage and also worked last year with Thom Brennaman as part of Fox’s number four NFL team.

The move is a smart one by Fox. First, quarterbacks and coaches make the best analysts. Second, unlike with CBS and Tony Romo, Romo will be part of a two-man booth. That is a lot more pressure on the analyst. With Cutler part of a three-man booth, he can ease into the role much easier and Davis will take a lot of the pressure off him, especially as an experienced broadcaster.

Cutler starts his second career. His first one will be remembered for inconsistent play and the man who maddeningly never quite figured it all out, despite gobs of talent.

Cutler’s final season in the NFL was marred by injuries. But in his final game, against the New York Giants, Cutler finished his career like only he could, with an interception.

There will be plenty of hot takes today about how Cutler will fail as an analyst. But he is going to surprise people. He has plenty of personality and a good sense of humor that many of the armchair analysts aren’t aware of. He will succeed at Fox.