Cutler to Chicago

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) - Jay Cutler got his wish Thursday: a
ticket out of Denver. And the Chicago Bears have a franchise
quarterback for the first time in decades.
The Broncos announced Thursday that they had agreed to trade
their disgruntled Pro Bowl passer to the Bears, who've gone through
a bevy of quarterbacks without much success ever since Jim McMahon
was calling plays in the 1980s.
The Broncos will get quarterback Kyle Orton in return, along
with two first-round draft picks and a third-rounder.
The Broncos get the Bears' top pick in this year's draft, which
is No. 18 overall, and Chicago's first-round draft pick in 2010
along with a third-round selection this year (No. 84 overall).
Denver also gave up a fifth-rounder this year.
Calls to Cutler's agent, Bus Cook, went unanswered. His office
in Hattiesberg, Miss., was closed because of bad weather and his
home phone had a message asking callers to call back later. An
e-mail sent by The Associated Press wasn't returned.
Cutler asked for a trade last month after his relationship with
Josh McDaniels soured when the new 32-year-old coach talked to
other teams about trading him. Cutler and his agent didn't think
McDaniels was upfront with them about the trade talks.
Two meetings designed to clear the air only raised Cutler's
level of distrust. Still, McDaniels insisted over and over that
Cutler was his guy and he said at last week's NFL owners meetings
that he would do everything he could to repair their relationship.
When the rocket-armed but thin-skinned passer didn't return the
Broncos' phone calls, however, team owner Pat Bowlen said enough
was enough. On Tuesday night, he announced he had given his new
brain trust of McDaniels and general manager Brian Xanders the
go-ahead to seek a trade for the quarterback who made the Pro Bowl
in just his second season as a starter.
Although Cutler is 17-20 as a starter, he's been victimized by
dismal defenses in Denver, and he was an impressive 13-1 when the
Broncos held opponents to 21 points or fewer.
Last year, Cutler threw for a franchise record 4,526 yards, 25
touchdowns and 18 interceptions. In his 37-game career in Denver,
he completed 62.5 percent of his passes for 9,024 yards, 54 TDs and
37 interceptions.
Although he was prone to mistakes, his bold and at times risky
play wasn't just tolerated but encouraged by former Broncos coach
Mike Shanahan, who would often laud Cutler for not just dumping off
short passes to pad his statistics but instead dared to go
downfield, even into coverage. He said that trait would make him
great one day.
Cutler's inability to quickly fulfill that forecast cost
Shanahan his job on Dec. 30 after the Broncos missed the playoffs
for the third straight year.
Cutler wasn't happy about Shanahan's firing. And he was upset
when his position coach, Jeremy Bates, bolted for Southern Cal
because McDaniels will be the one calling plays in Denver now.
When he hired McDaniels, Bowlen proclaimed that Cutler "is the
man around here, now."
That didn't last long.
Cutler started to get over Shanahan's dismissal and Bates'
departure and he told McDaniels in February he was eager to learn
his new offense. But that all changed on Feb. 28, when Cutler
learned McDaniels had talked about trading him to Tampa Bay in a
three-way deal that would have brought McDaniels' protege, Matt
Cassel, from New England to Denver.
McDaniels had tutored Cassel, who led New England to an 11-5
record after Tom Brady suffered a season-ending injury in the
opener last year.
That sent McDaniels' stock soaring and landed him in Denver as
Shanahan's successor.
It seemed like the perfect match: the rocket-armed passer meets
the offensive guru.
But McDaniels' dalliance with his former pupil blew up in his
face when he didn't clue in Cutler, and now McDaniels begins his
era in Denver by chasing off his 25-year-old Pro Bowl quarterback -
and he'll have to face Cassel twice a year because the Patriots
ended up sending his protege to Kansas City instead.
As for Cutler, he won't have to ditch his West Coast style for
the intricate Patriots-style offense.
He might be going to one of the teams he rooted for as a kid
growing up in Santa Claus, Ind., but he's also leaving a great
pocket of protection in Denver, where left tackle Ryan Clady is
considered the best young tackle in the game, and a great bunch of
receivers led by fellow Pro Bowler Brandon Marshall and Eddie
Royal. Behind young tackles Clady and Ryan Harris, Cutler's
offensive line allowed just a dozen sacks.
The Bears, however, signed free agent left tackle Orlando Pace
on Thursday.
Denver now has Orton, fellow newcomer Chris Simms and Darrell
Hackney at quarterback.
Simms, who signed a two-year, $6 million free agent deal
ostensibly to serve as Cutler's backup, has thrown just two passes
since undergoing emergency surgery to remove his spleen after a
game in 2006. Hackney's next NFL pass will be his first.
Bears general manager Jerry Angelo made it clear in December,
after his team went 9-7 and missed the playoffs for the second
straight year - that solidifying the quarterback spot was his top
priority.
"It's all about the quarterback," he said. "You don't win
because of wide receivers. You don't win because of running backs.
You win because of the quarterback. We've got to get the
quarterback position stabilized."
Orton threw for 2,972 yards while completing 272 of 465 passes
and throwing more touchdowns (18) than interceptions (12) after
beating out Rex Grossman for the starting job. But he wasn't the
same after being carted off the field with a sprained ankle against
Detroit midway through the season.
Orton went from throwing a club record 205 passes without an
interception to throwing eight in four games before a strong finish
in the finale.
The Bears will get a great but often petulant passer who is
going from the long shadow of John Elway in Denver to the Windy
City, where he'll be under just as much scrutiny.
Cutler is halfway through the six-year, $48 million contract he
signed as the 11th overall pick out of Vanderbilt in the 2006
draft. His salary cap number for next season is just over $1
million.
Although he probably won't play in the game, the Bears visit the
Broncos for an exhibition on Aug. 30.