Offseason Additions: Kyle Orton (QB); Brian Dawkins (S); Andre’ Goodman (CB); Renaldo Hill (S); Jabar Gaffney (WR); LaMont Jordan (RB); Correll Buckhalter (RB); Andra Davis (LB); Chris Simms (QB); J.J. Arrington (RB); Brandon Llyod (WR); Ronald Fields (DT); Nick Greisen (LB).
Offseason Losses: Jay Cutler (QB); Dre’ Bly (CB); Erik Pears (RB); Michael Pittman (RB); Nate Webster (LB); Jamie Winborn (LB); Ebenezer Ekuban (DE); Darrell Jackson (WR); Dewayne Robertson (DT); Patrick Ramsey (QB).
Player to Watch:Knowshown Moreno, RB.
Moreno will excel as a pass catcher in Josh McDaniels’ offense and should find plenty of running room behind the Broncos’ solid offensive line. He has outstanding vision and has picked up the art of pass-blocking. Although he’s been limited the past few weeks after suffering a MCL sprain in Denver’s preseason opener, Moreno is on track to play in Week 1. As long as he stays healthy, he could emerge as the Broncos’ every down back.
Team Strength: Led by tackles Ryan Clady and Ryan Harris, the Broncos have one of the best offensive lines in football. As a rookie, Clady demonstrated outstanding run-blocking skills and strength at the point of attack. Harris isn’t as athletically gifted as Clady, but he surrendered just 2.5 sacks last year and has excellent technique. Center Casey Wiegmann and guards Ben Hamilton and Chris Kuper are solid pass-blockers, although they could struggle with run-blocking as the team transitions out of the old zone-blocking scheme.
In an interview with Denver Post columnist Woody Paige, Denver owner Pat Bowlen discussed a variety of Broncos-related topics, including how Jay Cutler left the team no choice but to trade him.
“Honestly, I still don’t know what happened with Jay. I don’t want to throw him under the bus, but I made two phone calls (and there is proof, Broncos executives claim) and left voice mails with my cell number and asked him to call me, and he didn’t,” Bowlen said. “I don’t do e-mails. If Jay had called and said he thought the coach was (not a nice person) and he wanted out of here, I would have said, ‘Let’s work this out.’ But I heard nothing directly from him.
“Pick up the phone! That’s where we got off the rails. We had no other choice but to trade him. If (the trade talk) was the reason Jay left, he should have left.”
I feel for Bowlen because he was stuck in the middle of Cutler and new head coach Josh McDaniels during their feud. I think Cutler wanted out the moment Mike Shanahan was fired and he saw an opening when McDaniels attempted to trade for his former quarterback Matt Cassel. Cutler was trying to baby his way out by refusing to deal with the situation like a grown up and McDaniels’ ego wasn’t about to allow him to let a young quarterback bully him around in his first gig as a head coach.
So I believe Bowlen when he says Cutler never returned his phone calls and thus he had no choice but to trade the QB. What was Bowlen supposed to do? He had just hired McDaniels and I’m sure the new coach was telling him that the team could win without Cutler. In the end, he was forced to make a trade he didn’t want to make and now he just has to hope that everything works out in the end.
The Arizona Cardinals have reduced their trade demands for disgruntled receiver Anquan Boldin to a second-round pick in Saturday’s draft and other considerations and are talking to at least three teams who seem to be newly interested, two sources told ESPN’s Sal Paolantonio on Friday.
The New York Jets, New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles have expressed interest given the downgraded demands from a first- and third-round pick, the sources said.
Cardinals general manager Rod Graves and coach Ken Whisenhunt had repeatedly emphasized at the team’s pre-draft news conference Tuesday that they would be happy to keep Boldin and eventually try to sign him to a new contract.
If I were GM Jerry Angelo of the Bears, I’d be all over this like stink on horse crap. Chicago doesn’t have a ton of holes to address after landing quarterback Jay Cutler in a trade and signing free agent offensive linemen Orlando Pace, Frank Omiyale and Kevin Shaffer. So why not give Cutler a dynamic weapon like Boldin in the passing game?
That said, the Bears did give up their first round pick and one of their thirds (they still have one compensatory selection left from losing receiver Bernard Berrian via free agency last year), so losing their second (plus whatever else the Cardinals wanted) would sink their entire draft.
Trading away two picks for Cutler was already out of character for Angelo. If he traded any more picks, the Bears would be wise to put out a search party to see where the real Jerry Angelo was being kept.
Update: Cardinals’ GM Rod Graves denies that the Cardinals have dropped their asking price on Boldin. Looks like just another internet rumor on NFL draft eve…
In their latest ‘toon, the guys from Bang! Cartoon illustrate the mass confusion that ensued when Jay Cutler arrived on the Bears’ doorsteps and what was really behind Josh McDaniels and Pat Bowlen’s decision to trade the “snot-nosed” quarterback.
In one day, the Bears seemingly addressed their 20-year old quarterback problem and also added a significant piece to their offensive line. In one day, the Bears might have gone from a .500 team to the perennial favorites in the NFC North.
It’s way too early to be getting into predictions for the 2009 NFL Season. Voluntary workouts have begun, but the draft is still weeks away and teams are still trying to reshape their rosters.
But with the trade acquisition of Jay Cutler and the signing of left tackle Orlando Pace, the Bears significantly upgraded their offense and hopefully made current players like Matt Forte, Devin Hester, Frank Omiyale and Chris Williams better.
Make no mistake – Chicago is far from a Super Bowl contender. They still need to upgrade their wide receiver position, could use another defensive end to throw in the mix with Alex Brown, Adewale Ogunleye and Mark Anderson, and even though they signed Josh Bullocks this offseason, they could still use an upgrade at safety as well.
But while every team in the division has arguably gotten weaker, the Bears have upgraded. The Vikings are still pretty strong, but they lost long-time center Matt Birk and still have questions to be answered at quarterback. The Packers are planning to run a 3-4 defense next season, but have done next to nothing to add true 3-4 personnel and the Lions will continue to take a sandblaster to their entire roster.
Shortly after sending multiple draft picks and quarterback Kyle Orton to the Broncos to acquire Jay Cutler, the Bears signed former Rams’ left tackle Orlando Pace to help protect their new signal caller.
Pace will sign a two- or three-year contract and will be inserted as the starting left tackle meaning that 2008 first-round draft pick Chris Williams will have to stave off newly signed veteran Kevin Shaffer to claim a starting job at right tackle. Pace, 33, missed 25 games over the last three seasons but started 14 last season and cleared a physical when he visited the team on Monday. Agent Kennard McGuire praised the visit and it led to quick negotiations.
Pace is considered a better pass blocker, and that will allow the Bears to perhaps get a better run blocker in Williams or Shaffer on the right side. A lot of teams are right-handed when it comes to running the football. The depth chart looks much different than it did when minicamp ended two weeks ago and free-agent pickup Frank Omiyale, originally signed to play left guard, was running at right tackle with Williams on the left side. There were no backups in place.
This is a great signing for a couple of reasons. One, if Pace can stay healthy he offers an immediate upgrade at the left tackle position for the Bears. Although aging, Pace still has enough left in the tank to give Chicago one or two quality seasons until they can secure a more long-term answer. The Pace signing also allows the youngster Chris Williams to move to right tackle, which might be a better position for him because he doesn’t have to worry about protecting the quarterback’s blind side. Lastly, Omiyale isn’t a tackle. I don’t know why the Bears signed him to be a tackle, but at his size and quickness he’s more suitable for guard. With Pace now on board, Omiyale can shift down to guard and now as a unit, Chicago’s offensive line has been completely upgraded. (It’s not spectacular by any means, but they’re in better shape now than they were at this point last season.)
You have to give the Bears a ton of credit. They played possum all offseason, waited for their time to strike and then stole Cutler and Pace away from other teams. I know fans are probably waiting for their next signing to be Torry Holt, although he seems destined to land in Tennessee. Then again, I wouldn’t count the Bears out of anything right now.
Several media outlets are reporting that the Broncos have traded quarterback Jay Cutler to the Bears in exchange for first round picks in 2009 and 2010, a third round pick in 2009 and Kyle Orton. Denver will also give up an undisclosed draft choice in the later rounds.
It’s amazing how this entire situation unraveled. Two months ago there wasn’t a peep about a potential Cutler trade and now he’s set to become a Bear. One has to wonder whether Cutler wanted out as soon as Denver fired Mike Shanahan and when he saw an opening (i.e. Josh McDaniels’ supposed interest in former Patriots’ quarterback Matt Cassel), he took it and ran with it.
Even though they gave up a king’s ransom to acquire him, Chicago fans have to be ecstatic. They get a young quarterback with plenty of starting experience and one that has a strong arm to play in poor, late-season weather conditions. The bottom line is that the Bears haven’t had a reliable quarterback in nearly 20 seasons and now they have one who has the potential to succeed. Two first round picks are a steep price, but as I wrote yesterday, GM Jerry Angelo was probably going to blow those picks anyway (Chris Williams instead of Branden Albert, Jerry? Really?!) so Chicago might as well get a franchise-type quarterback instead.
Another note about the compensation, you have to remember that Cutler is a young quarterback with starting experience and who was sought after by multiple teams. And when you factor in how weak the quarterback class is this year, any team that wanted Cutler was going to have to give up several high draft picks like the Bears eventually did.
Here’s he latest on the Jay Cutler trade situation from ESPN.com’s Chris Mortensen:
• The Redskins are acting with urgency in their pursuit of Cutler but it doesn’t appear the Broncos have interest in Jason Campbell. Consequently, even while the Redskins may be willing to offer two first-rounders for Cutler, they are trying to gauge interest elsewhere for Campbell. If the Broncos do deal with the Redskins, it would give them control of the 12th and 13th picks in the draft.
• The Lions are interested in Cutler and would be willing to send the Broncos the first pick in the draft. But the Broncos don’t want it. Rather, the Broncos would ask for the Lions’ second first-round pick (No. 20) and possibly their second-rounder (No. 33), or another first-round pick in 2010. The Lions don’t believe they can financially bear the burden of paying for the first pick in this year’s draft, as well as sign Cutler to a contract extension.
• The Jets and Buccaneers also are involved in talks with the Broncos.
• The Panthers have some level of interest and are not opposed to including defensive end Julius Peppers in trade discussions. However, even though the Broncos have a need for a player of Peppers’ caliber, they are reluctant because signing Peppers to a new contract, a necessity to complete a trade with Carolina, is cost-prohibitive for the team.
Mortensen is also reporting that a Cutler trade could happen by as early as Friday of this week, with Washington being the top landing spot for him. According to the Washington Post, the Redskins recently offered quarterback Jason Campbell to an undisclosed team for a second-round pick. But nobody knows if that report is accurate and if it was, who the other team involved was.
If you’re a gambler, I’ll update the Jay Cutler trade odds for you below:
When you read something like this, you know something is seriously wrong with the NFL rookie salary structure.
The Lions are interested in Cutler and would be willing to send the Broncos the first pick in the draft. But the Broncos don’t want it. Rather, the Broncos would ask for the Lions’ second first-round pick (No. 20) and possibly their second-rounder (No. 33), or another first-round pick in 2010. The Lions don’t believe they can financially bear the burden of paying for the first pick in this year’s draft, as well as sign Cutler to a contract extension.
Can you imagine an NBA team saying that they don’t want the first overall pick?
Me neither.
The NFL needs to go to a reasonable rookie salary cap, and fast.
The National Football Post speculates that the Broncos are interested in USC quarterback Mark Sanchez and thus that’s why they are more willing to deal Jay Cutler.
There is always an historical perspective to these trades, and that’s the basis of what teams will ask when trading a player. However, this is a unique situation and it has two parts: First, what will the Broncos receive? And second, how can they be in position to fortify their quarterback position? It’s like a pool player who knows he’s going to make one shot but needs the cue ball in the right spot to make his next shot. For example, let’s assume they want Mark Sanchez. They have to receive a draft pick that will assure them they can get Sanchez to maximize the value of the trade. The key for anyone knowing where Cutler might be headed is knowing where the Broncos are headed with their quarterback position. Both moves go hand in hand. The answer lies in the kind of player Josh McDaniels wants playing quarterback in his offense.
My sense of all this is that it has nothing to do with Cutler returning calls or being belligerent, but rather the Broncos seeing a new player they’ve fallen in love with, i.e., Sanchez. This is just an educated guess on my part, but something usually happens to change a team’s position, and it normally happens when you find a solution to the problem. The Broncos have their eyes on someone, and I’m guessing it’s Sanchez since he has all the qualities McDaniels values in a quarterback. The talk will be about Cutler, but my focus will be on who will play quarterback for the Broncos.
The notion holds a lot of water, but it remains to be seen whether or not Sanchez is the guy that the Broncos have set their eyes on. Some believe that Denver will ship Cutler to Buffalo in exchange for Trent Edwards, which seems a bit absurd at the moment, but everything and anything seems in play at the moment.
