One source tells ESPN.com that the Jay Cutler/Josh McDaniels situation has gone from bad to worse after the two had a meeting yesterday to air out any hurt feelings stemming from the Broncos attempt to trade the quarterback a week ago.

The call was supposed to be a meeting of the minds between Cutler and the Broncos’ brass, in particular new head coach Josh McDaniels. The two got sideways Feb. 28 when word broke that McDaniels, the former New England offensive coordinator who replaced Mike Shanahan after 14 seasons, engaged in discussions about acquiring Matt Cassel from the Patriots in a three-way trade. Cutler had maintained the Broncos initiated the talks. McDaniels publicly said he was approached about a deal.

The conference call was anything but genial and the two sides are now further apart than prior to it, the source said. The source added that the Broncos’ tone of the conference call was as if Cutler created the situation by asking for the trade and not the other way around.

A Broncos source with knowledge of the discussions said that two sides did not grow further apart in Monday’s conference call and that issues were discussed openly and it was re-emphasized to Cutler he will not be traded.

Okay, so one source said the call was a disaster while the other one said it went fine. Great…

Not to kick a horse (pardon the pun) while it’s down, but none of this would have happened if the Broncos kept Mike Shanahan. Pat Bowlen wanted change and he got it. Now he has an inexperienced coach mucking up everything he touches, a pissed-off young quarterback and a franchise in a bit of disarray. The good thing is that it’s only March, so things could definitely straighten out by the time the season starts. But so far, McDaniels’ first couple months on the job have been a disaster.

For those Lions, Vikings or Bucs fans that were hoping the Broncos still had Jay Cutler on the trade block, you can forget it because according to head coach Josh McDaniels the disgruntled quarterback will not be dealt.

“Let me be as clear as I can about this,” McDaniels said when reached at his office Tuesday afternoon. “We are not trading Jay Cutler — period.”

Let those words ring around the NFL, the Internet, the blogosphere, sports-talk radio. No matter how much trade talk there is regarding Cutler, it is not originating from Denver and, to the disappointment of many, it is not happening. In fact, further proof that Denver fully intends to keep Cutler is evidenced in its action. McDaniels and Cutler are scheduled to meet next week.

Now that McDaniels has made things clear on that, he must work on bridging the gap between he and Cutler that was created by the original trade talk. Cutler apparently refuses to sit down and talk with McDaniels right now, which is completely ridiculous. Cutler needs to buck up and realize that this is professional football and trades happen. It would also be wise for McDaniels to seize control and show a little faith in Cutler or else this situation will get worse before it gets better.

Or so says ESPN.com’s Gene Wojciechowski:

Will someone please give Jay Cutler his pacifier, hand him his favorite blankie and put him back in his crib for his afternoon nap? Because if he cries anymore about a trade that didn’t happen, we’ll have to check his Pampers.

Cutler is the quarterback of the Denver Broncos. At least for now he is.

Turns out the Broncos are/were shopping him. The three-way trade between the Broncos, New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers didn’t reach critical mass, but names (Cutler to the Bucs, Matt Cassel to the Broncos) and numbers (first- and fourth-round draft picks to the Patriots) were discussed.

But it didn’t happen. Repeat: didn’t happen.

So what if the Broncos considered proposals from the Bucs? Who cares whether they listened to an offer from the Detroit Lions? When you haven’t reached the playoffs since ’05, when you gag away a three-game division lead with three games left, you listen to everybody about anybody.

“If they were in fact trying to trade Jay Cutler, then I think that’s a situation that’s going to cause a very serious problem for the organization,” Cook huffed and puffed.

Why? Because Cutler’s precious feelings were hurt? Please.

The nontrade causes serious problems only if Cutler wants it that way. To whine about the Broncos’ kicking the tires on a trade accomplishes nothing. Especially from a guy with zero playoff appearances and a grand total of 37 NFL games.

Cutler has accomplished nothing in this league. He has pretty passing numbers, but so what? It’s time for him to do a Brooks and grow up. It’s time for him to spit out the pacifier.

I couldn’t agree more. If Cutler wants to cry about possibly being traded, then he should win something first. Sports are a business and trades happen within that business. Wojciechowski has it right – Cutler needs to grow up.

If you weren’t a Jay Cutler fan before, you’re really going to like him now.

Remember how upset Cutler was after his name came up in trade talks over the weekend? Well according to SI.com’s Peter King, Cutler had already asked the Broncos to trade him, long before the events of this weekend took place.

Via Rotoworld.com:

According to SI’s Peter King, Jay Cutler had asked the Broncos to trade him after the team lost offensive coordinator Jim Bates to USC after the season.

Cutler wasn’t happy about losing Bates or head coach Mike Shanahan, and he’s not handling the recent trade talks well at all. It doesn’t look like the Broncos are going to trade Cutler at this point, so, as King suggested, “maybe both sides need to get into marriage counseling.”

You’re kidding me right? Cutler had already asked to be traded after Shanahan and Bates were fired, yet said he was shocked when his name came up in trade talks over the weekend? I guess he still could have been surprised by all the news, but for him to say how upset he was about the whole thing makes him look two-faced with this latest information coming to the table.

Any way you slice it, the Josh McDaniels era in Denver has not started off well. Cutler isn’t expected to be dealt any time this offseason, so that means the two parities will have to come together and bury the hatchet before the start of next season. These things tend to work themselves out and the situation will probably be a dead one by the time Week 1 hits, but again, this isn’t a good start for McDaniels.

Broncos’ wideout Brandon Marshall is keeping up with his lifelong dream of being arrested at least once every year for the rest of eternity.

Marshall was arrested Sunday in Atlanta and booked into the Atlanta City Jail on a disorderly conduct charge.

Details of the events leading to Marshall’s arrest were not known Sunday night, but a jail supervisor told ESPN’s John Barr that Marshall was involved in a fight.

Marshall posted a $300 bond and was released. This was the fourth arrest for Marshall since March 2006. He was suspended for three games last season for repeatedly running afoul of the law — Marshall’s suspension stemmed from seven police-related incidents with his former girlfriend, Rasheedah Wately.

But he had his punishment reduced to a single game when he pledged to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell that he would stay out of trouble.

Marshall, 24, now potentially faces a longer suspension to start the 2009 season, perhaps as much as eight games, which is the punishment other players have received for repeatedly getting into trouble off the field.

The league doesn’t require convictions for the commissioner to suspend a player.

Let’s see what I wrote the last time Marshall was arrested…

Marshall needs to wake up and smell the opportunities that have been given to him. He’s a rare talent, blessed with both size and speed. But he also seems to have nothing between the ears and if he ever wants to cash in on his Terrell Owens-type talent, then he’ll need to start making better decisions.

Yep, that should cover it for his latest arrest, too.

So let’s see, Jay Cutler is pissed off at new head coach Josh McDaniels for trying to trade him over the weekend and now Marshall is in trouble again. What a great time to be a Broncos fan.

Update: The charges have been dropped against Marshall. Wow, that was fast. Either way, how about Marshall lay low for a while anyway?