If you booed Andrew Luck for retiring from football, Jay Cutler would like a word with you.
Jay Cutler is no stranger to criticism. His entire career, from his days in Denver to his journey with Chicago, was defined by fans demanding more than they thought he was giving them. Whether or not that ends up being his legacy is yet to be seen, but it’s safe to say he knows a thing or two about good and bad reasons for fans to be booing an NFL player.
Andrew Luck retiring is not among those reasons.
Cutler, who retired from the NFL a year ago, admires Luck for taking a step back from the game and respecting his teammates enough to not pretend as though he could play at a higher level than he’s capable of.
“I think it was an honorable thing to get out of there before the season started.”
As for the fans who booed Luck on his way off the field after word of his retirement made the rounds, Cutler wants those people to take a step back and not be prisoners of the moment.
“Look and see how hard of a decision it was, how much time and thought he put into it. [Retiring] wasn’t something he decided that morning.”
Cutler has managed to spend his retirement better than anyone expected. From his Instagram vacation pictures to his reality show with wife Kristin Cavallari, life post-football has been good. He’s also a professor for the Dos Equis College Football Football College, which teaches Armchair Quarterbacks (we all know a few of these) the finer details of the game they so freely criticize.
Luck now has the freedom to do any of that and more in his retirement. He made his choice, one that was never going to be popular, and we have to move forward from there. The boos will fade into the background, just like they did for Cutler.