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In case you missed the news last night, the Chicago Bears have benched Jay Cutler in favor of Jimmy Clausen. It really doesn't get much lower than that. It is assumed that Bears coach Marc Trestman is doing this in order to try and save his job. You have to feel bad for a man who is pinning his hopes on Jimmy Clausen, but that is not the point of this post.
Now all of the national media is pointing to Tennessee as the next stop for Cutler. Peter King has been throwing it out there for the last few days. Both Mikes talked about it this morning on Mike and Mike. They also had Todd McShay on their show who said that Cutler makes sense for the Titans because he played at Vanderbilt and "still has a lot of fans in Tennessee." Yep, all 5 Vandy fans are really hoping that Cutler makes a triumphant return to Nashville.
McShay also said that the Titans are a quarterback away from making a playoff run. That is one of the dumbest statements that has ever been made in the history of speaking.
Here are the problems with Cutler to the Titans:
1. His contract- Cutler still has over $31 million in guaranteed money on his contract over the next two seasons. The Titans have plenty of cap room, but it doesn't make sense to pay a guy that much money who isn't that good...which leads me to my second point...
2. Jay Cutler isn't that good. I understand his abilities. He is an athletic guy that can "make all the throws" and is pretty accurate. That's nice, but it hasn't translated to play on the field. In his 8 years in the league he has thrown for 27,577 yards with 183 touchdowns and 130 interceptions in 118 games. That is a per game average of 233.7/1.55/1.1. Those aren't terrible numbers, but they also aren't elite numbers, and Cutler is paid like an elite quarterback. Check out this stat:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Crazy Stat of Day: Jay Cutler is making $22.5 million this year, more than Wilson, Luck, Rodgers, Newton and Sanchez COMBINED.</p>— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) <a href="https://twitter.com/SportsCenter/status/545595732053733378">December 18, 2014</a></blockquote>
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3. This team has a long way to go, and Cutler isn't getting any younger. Sure, he could play for another 4 or 5 years, but this team needs a guy that is going to lead them for a decade. Cutler isn't that guy.
4. They would have to give up picks to get him, and this team cannot afford to give up any picks with as many holes as they have on their roster. This point should probably be #1 on the list. The reality is this team isn't just a quarterback away from being good, and they definitely aren't an average QB away from contention.
I will admit that we have a different conversation on our hands if the Bears decide to cut Jay Cutler, but that seems unlikely with the financial commitment they have to him over the next few years.
This is what drives me crazy about national media. They are lazy when it comes to the Titans. They see that the Titans don't have a franchise quarterback, see that Cutler is benched in Chicago, see that he played his college ball in Nashville and just make the connection. They don't research any deeper than that. With things as they stand right now, Cutler to the Titans makes absolutely no sense.
