Broncos Trade Jay Cutler to Bears

In an unexpected turn of events late this afternoon, the Denver Broncos traded quarterback Jay Cutler to the Chicago Bears. Here are the details: the Bears get Jay plus a fifth round Draft pick this year. The Broncos get quarterback Kyle Orton, two first round Draft picks (one this year and one next year) and a third round Draft pick this year.

This deal was surprising in that all signs were pointing toward a trade to the Washington Redskins until the Bears stepped in and made the deal worth Denver’s while. Chicago GM Jerry Angelo was understandably excited and pleased about the acquisition. And he could’ve cared less about Jay’s recent reputation for being “difficult” to deal with:

“We felt that he’s a very good person, a good leader. He had some things that happened in Denver. We recognize those, but we treated them as just speed-bumps, part of the growing process. He’s highly competitive, he’s highly emotional. That just comes with the territory.”

Even though they gave up a lot to get Jay, the Bears now have their first “franchise quarterback” since Sid Luckman. OK, I’m kidding. But you can go back as far as the Jim McMahon era to find one and that was over 20 years ago. That’s right, it’s been a running joke around the NFL (and especially in the NFC North) about the number of quarterbacks who have started for the Chicago Bears since 1986. I mean, they had four different starting quarterbacks in 2004 alone. Even when the Bears went to Super Bowl XLI just three seasons ago, it was almost in spite of their starting QB Rex Grossman. Put Jay Cutler on that particular team and I think they beat the Indianapolis Colts.

It was a happy day at Halas Hall. And one Bears fans might remember forever.

Source: ChicagoBears.com, Photo: Newscom