The Chicago Bears have begun reaching out across the NFL in hopes of finding a team willing to trade for quarterback Jay Cutler, according to ESPN’s Jeff Darlington. The new league year kicks off on March 9, at which point teams can officially make trades for players and draft picks. In the meantime, there will be plenty of chatter about moving players.
The Bears were expected to look into moving past Cutler, so it makes sense they would begin this process now. All 32 teams will have significant representation at the 2017 NFL Combine, at which point trade discussions will likely take a big step forward on a variety of players. Along with Cutler, the QB trade market will include Jimmy Garoppolo and Tony Romo.
It is possible the Bears and Cowboys release Cutler and Romo at some point, but in the meantime, they will look to find somebody willing to swing a deal. Add in Tyrod Taylor as a guy who could be traded or cut, and Kirk Cousins potentially being franchised, and it could get really busy really quickly.
I don’t know what kind of pick(s) it would take to land Cutler. I would think it would be less than Garoppolo and Romo, but it’s all speculation at this point. I imagine Garoppolo ends up costing the most, but what then between Romo and Cutler? Romo has been better when healthy, but that is a huge issue with Romo. Cutler missed 11 games this past season, but had played 15 each of the previous two seasons.
Would you pay less for Cutler knowing you’ll probably get more games? Or would you rather have Romo’s upside? The 49ers might be interested in one or both men, but odds are decent Romo will want to go to a contender, and the Cowboys will likely work with him to make that happen. Cutler on the hand? I think the Bears will do anything they can just to unload him. Cutler can make things moderately difficult if it is not to the right situation, but the Bears owe him little in guaranteed money, and could release him if they can’t work things out.