New York Jets Rumors: Trading For Jay Cutler Is Nonsense
By Ryan Ratty
The writing is on the wall for Jay Cutler with the Chicago Bears. After getting benched in Week 16 in favor of first-round bust Jimmy Clausen, it is clear that the Bears would like to go a different direction at the quarterback position in 2015. Even though general manager Ray Emery gave over $100 million to Cutler last offseason, the Vanderbilt product proved in 2014 that not only is he not worth the money, but he isn’t deserving of retaining his starting gig in 2015. That being said, there have been many teams rumored to be interested in ironing out the kinks with Cutler and one of those teams is the New York Jets.
Although Cutler has a history of choking, the reality is that Cutler is still an extremely talented football player. Let’s take a look at one his best throws:
In this throw, you will Cutler’s willingness to scramble just outside of the pocket. At the same time, Cutler keeps his eyes up and looks through his progressions. Cutler has been ridiculed over the course of his career for his mechanics, but his arm is simply one of the best in the league. In that GIF, you will see just how good of a ball Cutler throws even though he never really put much on it. Let’s take a look at another GIF that shows off Cutler’s arm even further:
In this throw, Cutler brings the linebackers up and freezes the safeties by using play-action. This allows Alshon Jeffery to break free past his man and ultimately get some separation in the back end of the defensive secondary. Cutler takes just one step into his throw and he flings it down the football field with no problem. Trent Dilfer loves dimes and this throw by Cutler is a dime to say the least. In these two throws, Cutler shows off his throwing ability and to be honest, he makes it look quite easy.
Despite his arm, Cutler lacks many things that are needed for a franchise quarterback. For starters, no pun intended, Cutler lacks emotion. It may sound childish or plain idiotic, but emotions are needed for quarterbacks. Although, quarterbacks do not define a team, the fact of the matter is that they play the most important position on an NFL roster. In Cutler’s tenure in the NFL, he is often dull and even when he loses, it really doesn’t look like he cares.
His attitude leads to my next point. Playing for the Jets, Cutler would be under constant pressure because of the New York media. Obviously, Chicago gets a lot of press, but nothing compares to the aggressive New York media. In my opinion, for Cutler to play at his best, he needs to be playing for a small-market team.
Another thing to remember is that Cutler will be 32 by the end of the season. Given the structure of his contract, the Jets would likely have to give up some of the farm to get him and the Jets are in no position to do that considering the amount of holes on this roster. Taking on a contract of a quarterback who will make over $15 million in 2015 is simply not worth it for the Jets. If the Jets are going to pay that amount of money for a quarterback, it would need to be a player of Aaron Rodgers’ level, not Cutler’s.
As I alluded to earlier, the Jets have a ton of positions that need to be filled over the offseason. Some of those positions that need improvement are the wide receiver position, the tight end position, the linebacker position, and the entire secondary. Trading for Cutler would take two first-round picks, a second-round pick, and likely some mid-round picks as well. In an offseason that will define the Jets’ franchise for the foreseeable future, trading for an uninspired football player like Cutler is extremely risky.
Despite his contract, there is no question that Cutler is years better than Geno Smith or Michael Vick. As Jets fans have seen all season, the weakest position on this roster is the quarterback position. Smith is not competent enough to be a starting quarterback in this league and Vick is prone to turning the football over. Cutler would be an immediate upgrade in this offense, however, the Jets would be better just taking a quarterback in the 2015 NFL Draft.
In 2014, Cutler has turned the football over 27 times, 18 interceptions and nine fumbles. Throughout his NFL career, Cutler has never had a quarterback rating of over 90. So that poses question, for a guy that is getting all of this money, Cutler sure has never had amazing NFL success. Even with excellent weapons in Matt Forte, Brandon Marshall, Alshon Jeffery and Martellus Bennett, Cutler has never put up an All-Pro season and that is quite alarming. When you take look at those weapons compared to an aging Chris Johnson, Eric Decker, and Jeremy Kerley, it is easy to see why he would be an epic failure in New York.
Cutler will likely be on the market and the Jets have a need at the quarterback position. Obviously, this trade is enticing for the Jets, but with patience comes success in the NFL. Building a Super Bowl contender does not happen overnight. The fact of the matter is that even with Cutler, this Jets team is nowhere near ready for the Super Bowl, yet even the playoffs. With all of that being said, the idea of the Jets trading for Cutler is simply asinine.