Jay Cutler Traded to the Bears

On Thursday April 2, 2009, the Denver Broncos traded Jay Cutler to the Chicago Bears for the Bears for Kyle Orton, the Bears 1st round pick in 2009 (#), the Bears 3rd round pick in 2009, and the Bears 1st round pick in 2010. Finally, the Jay Cutler-Josh McDaniels saga is over. How do we assess this trade? First, obviously the Bears got instant value in Jay Cutler. Cutler might be the missing piece that puts the Bears over the top in the NFC, but the true winner in this trade will not be defined for many years to come. Second, the Bears went "All in" and Denver took the deal. Say what you want about the Broncos front office, but at least they got the maximum they could get for Cutler. This will burn Bronco fans for the most of this year, but remember this trade will be defined with what the Broncos do with these picks and this draft. If the Broncos use these picks wisely, and they build a solid team for the future, then the Broncos could have pulled on the best trades since the Cowboys dealt Herschel Walker. Only time will tell. Here is what I would like to see from the Broncos on Draft Day:

1) Draft Mark Sanchez. The Broncos should draft a QB for the future and Sanchez might be the right guy at the right time. Sanchez isn't replacing John Elway. He is replacing Jay Cutler, and many Bronco fans would be excited to get a possible big time QB to supplant Cutler right away. If that means you have to trade up to get him, go do it.

2) Get a starter on the Defensive Line and at Linebacker. If we could get a D-Lineman (Brian Orakpo, Tyson Jackson, or Robert Ayers) and a Linebacker (Brian Cushing, Ray Mauluaga, Clay Matthews, or James Laurinitis) then this can be a home run draft.

As far as Cutler goes, as long as he doesn't win a Super Bowl with the Bears, then I don't care how he does. He can throw for 4,000 yards and 28 TDs every year, but as long as he isn't winning Super Bowls, I can live with it. He might be just another Drew Brees. Puts up big numbers every year, but his team goes 8-8. If Cutler goes on to win Super Bowls, then this trade was a disaster. Only time will tell.


I also want to look at the losers in the Cutler Sweepstakes. The Jets are the number one loser. All week long, all of the NY papers and sports talk shows thought that the Jets were gonna get Cutler. All the Jet fans felt that Mike Tannenbaum, the Jets GM, would make the deal and Denver would send Cutler to New York, but the Jets couldn't pull the trigger and they are stuck with Kellen Clemens and a shitty franchise. The Bucs are the second loser because they originally made a proposal for Cutler back at the end of February, and they desperately needed a franchise QB, but they couldn't lock down a deal.

The bottom line is that I am a Broncos fan and I support the team and the ownership. I am excited for the future of the Denver Broncos, and I look forward to seeing Denver somehow become a top tier NFL team. Go Broncos!