NFL teams just can’t seem to quit Jay Cutler

Jay Cutler is probably retired, this time for keeps, but some NFL teams may still want to get a look at him before training camp.

This time a year ago, Jay Cutler was retired and set to join Kevin Burkhardt and Charles Davis in the broadcast booth for Fox. Then Ryan Tannehill went down to a torn ACL early in training camp, and the Miami Dolphins came calling with $10 million and the opportunity to reunite with Adam Gase.

Cutler had a pretty typical season, with ups and downs on his way to 2,666 yards, 19 touchdowns and 14 interceptions over 14 games. He was toward the bottom of the league in adjusted net yards per attempt (25th) and Total QBR (28th), while Pro Football Focus graded him out at 35th out of 39 qualified quarterbacks.

Cutler seems set to comfortably retire, once and for all. He pretty much told wife Kristin Cavallari so, as captured on their reality show Very Cavallari, even with the qualifier he won’t be 100 percent sure he’s done with football until September.

Toward the end of last season, Cutler clearly said he would not uproot and move again to go be a backup somewhere. But according to Mike Freeman of Bleacher Report, that isn’t preventing some teams from wanting to get a look at him.

"I’ve heard from several front office executives that some teams want Cutler to work out for them and see if the QB has anything left. That’s hilarious, because if you ask me and anyone else who watched him in Miami last season, it’s clear he does not.Still, many teams have fallen in love with Cutler—or, at least, his strong arm—and overlooked his many flaws, which usually are enough to derail any benefits his talent promises."

The Carolina Panthers, Seattle Seahawks, Los Angeles Rams, Oakland Raiders and the Dallas Cowboys stand out in particular as teams that would have their season derailed by a significant injury to their starting quarterback. Cutler could be that experienced backup, if he’s willing to take such a role. Or he could just wait for an injury between the start of training camps and Week 1, as happened with Tannehill last year and Teddy Bridgewater the year before, at which point a chance to start could surface.

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Cutler has always enticed with his physical tools, only to be diminished by bonehead mistakes on the field and the perception of a distant, arrogant, personality. But the lack of quarterback depth in the NFL will keep teams somewhat interested until further notice.