Tag: Matthew Stafford (Page 17 of 20)

SI.com’s Peter King notes in his Tuesday edition of “Monday Morning Quarterback” that the Broncos aren’t currently entertaining any trade offers at this time for Jay Cutler.

Hold off on the Jay Cutler trade talk — for now. A source close to one team that has inquired with the Broncos about the unhappy quarterback tells me the Broncos have told them they’re hanging on to Cutler and won’t entertain discussions for him at this time.

That’s a natural thing for the Broncos to say. They can’t give Cutler or his agent, Bus Cook, a shred of evidence that they want to move him until coach Josh McDaniels is convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt the relationship with Cutler is not fixable. But it’s probably more likely than unlikely the Broncos will find the situation can’t be remedied, in my opinion. So I do expect Denver’s tune to change sometime between now and the April 25 draft, and I do expect Cutler to be traded.

I expect the usual suspects to line up for Cutler — Detroit, Cleveland, San Francisco, Tennessee and perhaps Carolina, though the Panthers, without a first-round pick in the 2009 draft, will be at a severe disadvantage. But I don’t think he’ll end up in one of those spots unless Detroit offers the 20th and 33rd picks of the draft, and a player sweetener, straight up for him.

I expect the most fervent suitors to be Tampa Bay and the New York Jets.

I still think Detroit has the most to offer with two first round picks. Then again, they have a ton of holes to fill and giving up multiple draft picks for Cutler could be too much in the end when they could select Matthew Stafford with the first overall pick.

My best guess is that Cutler gets dealt on one of the days leading up to the draft. But there’s a fair amount of time between now and then so maybe McDaniels can pull a rabbit out of his hat and remedy the situation before then.

Let me state for the record that I’m just speculating here, but if the Broncos do eventually decide to trade disgruntled quarterback Jay Cutler, the Detroit Lions seem like a perfect fit.

The Lions are in obvious need of a quarterback and currently hold the No. 1 and No. 20 overall picks in next month’s draft. If they’re interested in Cutler, they could offer the No. 1 pick, assuming that Denver also swings Detroit a mid rounder as part of the package.

The quarterback class in this year’s draft is awfully weak. Assuming of course that the Broncos would be willing to trade Cutler, wouldn’t the Lions be better off with him than Matthew Stafford or Mark Sanchez? Even if they do give up the No. 1 pick for Cutler, they still have the No. 20 pick to address their need at left tackle (Michael Oher, anyone?).

Cutler hasn’t won anything yet and has proven to be an arrogant crybaby at times, but there’s no denying that he has the physical tools to succeed in the NFL. That’s not to say that Stafford or Sanchez don’t, but at least Cutler already has experience under his belt and 25 (he’ll be 26 at the end of April) he’s still awfully young.

I guess what it boils down to is how much the Lions value Stafford and Sanchez. If they have their hearts set on drafting a quarterback at No. 1, then pursing a trade for Cutler seems like a no-brainer. He can start now – Stafford and Sanchez can’t. But if they feel that left tackle is a bigger need and have players like Baylor’s Jason Smith and Virginia’s Eugene Monroe rated significantly higher than the other offensive tackle prospects, then their quarterback need could be placed on the backburner.

The Lions need everything, but quarterback, offensive tackle and middle linebacker are their three biggest question marks. Out of the three, offensive tackle and linebacker are deeper positions than quarterback. If Detroit swings a deal for Cutler, they could still get a good offensive tackle or linebacker with their No. 20 pick, as well as with their second and third round selections. (Another possibility is the Lions could trade the No. 20 pick and maybe a third rounder for Cutler if they feel as though giving up the No. 1 pick would be too steep.)

As for Denver, head coach Josh McDaniels has already stated that the team has no intentions of trading Cutler. But the situation seems to be getting much worse and maybe soon the Broncos won’t have a choice but to seek out a trade. But obviously McDaniels would have to feel that either Stafford or Sanchez are better fits for his offense then Cutler is. It wouldn’t make any sense to give up a young starting quarterback to get the No. 1 pick if there isn’t a prospect that McDaniels doesn’t believe that he can develop.