Oh the Jay Cutler trade. It was and will remain one of the most hotly debated topics for the rest of Chicago Bears history. In hindsight it’s unclear whether the team was right in making that deal with the Denver Broncos in spring of 2009. They would give up first and third round picks that year, a first round pick in 2010 and veteran quarterback Kyle Orton. In exchange they got a hyper-talented young arm who was entering his prime.
Seemed like such a slam dunk. Eight years later Cutler is 33-years old and better known for his naked butt appearing on the internet these days than what he’s accomplished on the field. The sum total of his accomplishments? Holding the all-time franchise record for passing yards and touchdowns along with one playoff victory. The first feat is solid but not all that special. As for the other? Not much to brag about.
Eight years ago today, #Bears traded Kyle Orton, 2 first-round picks and a third-rounder to #Broncos for Jay Cutler and a fifth-round pick.
— Zach Zaidman (@ZachZaidman) April 2, 2017
Trading for Cutler was a bold move in an attempt to finally solve the decades-long problem at quarterback for Chicago. At the same time it robbed the team of the draft ammunition it could’ve used to brace up what was already an aging roster by that point. Several former players, including Brian Urlacher stated they felt it was an unnecessary move give they’d just gone 9-7 with Orton in 2008.
Subscribe to the BFR podcast and ride shotgun with Dave and Ficky as they break down Bears football like nobody else.
So was it? Perhaps the best way to answer that is by listing all the future Pro Bowl players they could’ve had with those three valuable picks they gave up in the deal. Be warned. It gets pretty sad.
Assessing the Jay Cutler trade impact
2009 First Round Pick
- Jeremy Maclin
- Alex Mack
- Percy Harvin
- Vontae Davis
- Clay Matthews
- Eric Wood
- Jairus Byrd
- Connor Barwin
- Max Unger
- LeSean McCoy
- William Moore
- Louis Vasquez
2009 Third Round Pick
- Mike Wallace
- T.J. Lang
- Glover Quin
- Kevin Huber
- Thomas Morstead
- Cedric Peerman
- Pat McAfee
2010 First Round Pick
- Ryan Mathews
- Earl Thomas
- Jason Pierre-Paul
- Mike Iupati
- Maurkice Pouncey
- Jermaine Gresham
- Demaryius Thomas
- Dez Bryant
- Devin McCourty
- Dexter McCluster
- T.J. Ward
- Rob Gronkowski
- Zane Beadles
- Linval Joseph
- Daryl Washington
- Carlos Dunlap
- Sean Lee
- Golden Tate
There are too many names to truly process so lets keep it to the bigger names. The Bears could’ve easily given Orton better weapons with those picks. Imagine them getting Jeremy Maclin one year and Rob Gronkowski the next. Or perhaps they could’ve solved that pesky problem at the safety position people are (still) complaining about. Earl Thomas, Glover Quin and T.J. Ward? Come on down. Last but not least, they might’ve found their heirs to Urlacher and Lance Briggs.
Imagine Clay Matthews suiting up with those two back in those days. An already great linebacking corps would’ve become an all-timer. This not counting the host of other quality talent they willingly passed on in favor of Cutler. It’s easy to criticize the move now after what’s happened, but it also serves as a valuable lesson.
Important as the quarterback position is, some prices just aren’t worth paying. Also it’s almost never a wise thing to sacrifice the long-term future in favor of a before-it’s-too-late title rush in the present. They almost never work and the team pays the price for years to come down the line. The Bears are showcasing that.
