If John Elway Were Around Two Years Ago, Broncos Might Not Have Traded Jay Cutler
Since taking over the duties of Executive Vice President of Football Operations in January, John Elway has been doing everything he can to make sure the Denver Broncos bounce back from their disappointing 4-12 season in 2010. While Kyle Orton and Tim Tebow are expected to provide one of the most interesting position battles at quarterback once training camp rolls around, Elway recently expressed his feelings towards Jay Cutler–the quarterback traded by the Broncos before the 2009 NFL Draft.
At the time, it was clear Cutler and former Broncos head coach Josh McDaniels were incapable of working together. Two seasons later, Cutler is now with the Chicago Bears, McDaniels is the new offensive coordinator with the St. Louis Rams, and Denver heads into the 2011 season with plenty of questions surrounding the quarterback position. Both Orton and Tebow showed potential at times throughout last season, but that doesn’t mean they’re the answer when it comes to building the franchise around a franchise quarterback.
The funny thing is, if Elway had it this way–the quarterback position may not even be an issue at the moment.
Sean Jensen of the Chicago Sun-Times reported that Elway may have chosen to keep Cutler around if he was calling the shots two years ago for the Broncos. Here’s what Jensen had to say about the whole situation on Saturday:
Asked Tuesday at the owners meetings if he would have traded Cutler, now the team’s executive vice president, told the Chicago Sun-Times, “That’s hard to say because I don’t know all the circumstances.
“But I do know how hard it is to get a guy who has that much talent at the position.”
What’s even more interesting is the part of the article in which Jensen reports that when asked by a radio station host if Cutler would still be with the Broncos if he was around back then, Elway responded, “There’s a good possibility, yeah.”
In just his second full season as the starter, Cutler broke Elway’s franchise record by throwing for 4,526 yards while showing plenty of potential for a franchise quarterback–which the Broncos have struggled with since Elway retired after the 1998 season. While there’s nothing they can do about it now, it’s hard not to wonder what would have happened between Cutler and the Broncos if Elway had been hired two years ago.
Dan Parzych is the Lead NFL Content Editor for RantSports.com/NFL, where he writes and edits NFL content for RantSports.com.
Here’s something else. That trade was totally one-sided. Not one player, except for Orton, was any good. The two number ones and the number three were either busts or traded for other picks that did not turn out well either.
Why am I not surprised that the “Good Old Boy” network would have been willing to keep Cutler on the roster althought he thoroughly disrespected the franchise. Yet game winning QB’s who exhibit similar behavior continues to be black balled by the media and can’t get the same benefit of the doubt!