The Vikings would be stupid if they are not interested. Cutler is way better than Jackson or Sage. The only issue in Minny is their WRs may not be as good as Denvers.
I don't think the Lions have the material to get Cutler in a Trade, not without some help. They have picks galore, but they have so many holes to fill trading even one pick will be ******* them. They want to correct the damage Millen did to the franchise, and Denver will want a QB of some value in addition to Picks. Detroit already let Kitna go, who else do they have? Culpepper, Ancient, Stanton, Unproven.
I did an analysis of this over on the Redskins board, which I also follow regularly. So if some of the comments are geared that way, you know why. I made this post after a report that as many as ten teams called with interest in Cutler.
Enjoy.
Original Post
Of the 32 teams I believe the Following Would not be interested because their QB situation is either set, or not needed to make a move:
1 San Diego Chargers P. Rivers
2 Miami Dolphins C. Pennington
3 Arizona Cardinals K. Warner *
4 New Orleans Saints Drew Brees
5 Indianapolis Colts P. Manning
6 Green Bay Packers A. Rodgers
7 Houston Texans M. Schaub *
8 Dallas Cowboys Tony Romo
10 New England Patriots T. Brady
11 Atlanta Falcons Matt Ryan
13 Seattle Seahawks M. Hasselbach
14 New York Giants E. Manning
22 Baltimore Ravens Joe Flacco
23 Tennessee Titans K. Collins *
24 Pittsburgh Steelers B. Roethlisberger
26 Oakland Raiders J. Russell
27 Kansas City Chiefs M. Cassel
32 Cleveland Browns D. Anderson *
(Don't forget denver ain't trading with themselves)
18 Teams in total That I think are set at QB, now there was a rumor about Tennessee, but if these guys think JC is bad, Vince Young isn't any better. That's 60% of the teams in the league, that leaves is maybe 13 teams that there are serious question marks.
MIami: Someone said that Miami may not be settled on Pennington, and long term I agree, but making a trade like this would be unexpected from a bill parcells run organization.
(update: Miami has said Pennington is slated as starter for this year, with plans to get Chad Henne playing time, or Starting him in 2010)
Houston: Matt Schaub has been a pretty good QB when healthy in Houston, I'm not sure if Cutler is better than Schaub (haven't examined the stats), but I don't think Houston will want to make a deal to switch QBs this quickly. Not for a starter.
I'm pretty confident these 18 + Denver teams are probably going to spend zero time thinking about cutler, except to laugh at the mayhem. So what teams may have a backup QB that they could trade?
So that's half the league that I'm pretty confident would NOT be interested in Cutler, to play for them. The three I asterisked, have either a backup QB they could trade, or I could perhaps see a situation where they could trade them. Houston may not be done with Schaub, but I'm not 100% sold on him there either.
3 Arizona Cardinals M. Leinart * Has Picks:
23 Tennessee Titans V. Young * Has Picks:
32 Cleveland Browns D. Anderson/B Quinn Has Picks:
Tennessee: As I said I don't think V Young is better than Jason Campbell, statistically he hasn't been, and while TN might be willing to drop him for cutler, they just extended Collins (36), V. Young had head and heart issues that I'm not sure he is ready to start again. Judging from what
(Update: Fisher has said, he's sold on Kerry Collins, and if Collins struggles feels that Vince could come in and replace without missing a beat). Has Picks: 1st (30th), 2nd (62nd), 3rd(94th), 4th, 6th, 7th
Browns: Cleveland has two QBs, and if Mangini isn't sold on either QB (I think Quinn could be good in a WCO), one of them could fit in nicely. B. Quinn learned from Charlie Weiss which runs the same sort of Offense that you'd expect McDaniels to run. However, Cleveland is still low on Picks from the Brady QUinn Trade.
(Update: Mangini has said he will make Quinn and Anderson Compete for job) Has Picks: 1st(5), 2nd(37), 4th, 6th
Cards: Arizona could be looking to unload Matt Leinart. THe current staff didn't draft him, they just extended Kurt Warner, and its a headache they might prefer to get rid of for now. Leinart is one of the better QBs that could be in this trade. Has Picks: 1st(31), 2nd(63), 3rd(95), 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th
So Cleveland and Arizona are two teams that I could see trading one of their QBs, but that doesn't solve where Culter Goes.
Now, I think everyone would agree that the following teams have voids at the QB position, and 3 of the five teams mentioned do not have a starter returning that had a solid year.
9 Tampa Bay Buccaneers
12 San Francisco 49ers Shaun Hill
21 New York Jets
28 Minnesota Vikings
29 Detroit Lions
Niners: The 49ers do still have Alex Smith and Shaun hill, but they made a play for Warner, which tells me they aren't happy with their stable at that position. But are Shaun Hill or Alex Smith good trade bait? Neither has been shown to be a good Starter IMO, but a 3 way trade? Maybe. If the broncos could get a decent pick, it is conceivable that they could take smith or hill as a roster QB. Has Picks: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th
Bucs: Tampa let Garcia go, he's old, and won't go anywhere but to start, and may retire. Gradkowski is also gone, leaving Tampa with no QB standing as the sure starter. Because of this while Tampa might be a good fit for Cutler as far as offense goes, they've scrapped so many veterans that they have little other than draft picks to trade with. Tampa most likely will need to execute a three way trade to make this happen. Has Picks: 1st(19), 2nd(51), 3rd(83), 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 7th, 7th
Jets: The Jets still have Kellen Clemmons, but given that NY showed they were interested in Favre last year, you can't help but wonder if going after a young 'brett favre esque' QB could be interesting. Clemmons may be a serviceable starting QB, and was only replaced because of Brett Favre being available. Offensively the Jets have needs at WR, but may have the picks worthy of pulling off the trade, and the Jets may have enough ammunition to do this without the aid of a third team and still feel their needs. Has Picks: 1st (17), 2nd (49), 3rd (78), 3rd (81), 4th, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th
Vikings: Minnesota let Gus Frerrotte go, added Sage Rosenfels (who I don't think they are sold on), and Tavarais Jackson. They have a great running game, but have been lacking at the QB position since Culpepper (and Randy Moss/Chris Carter) left. Minnesota could perhaps part with Sage Rosenfels or Tavaris Jackson, but I am not sure whether Either would be a good fit in Denver. Has Picks: 1st (22nd), 2nd (54th), 3rd (86th), 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 7th
Lions: The Lions organization is in shambles, and while the consensus is they need a QB they can build around, with new management it is not a foregone conclusion that they would give up enough picks to get him, given that they have no player of standing that Denver might be interested in. However, if they could work a through a third team, maybe, but the Lions may not be in the best position to get Cutler especially considering what the Jets have to offer, given that denver seems to want players in trade.
(Update: Roster evaluation reveals only 2 QBs on roster, Daunte Culppeper who is 'ancient' by todays standards, and the young and still unproven Drew Stanton in his 2nd or 3rd Year out of Mich. St.)
Has Picks: 1st (1st), 1st (20th), 2nd (33rd), 3rd (65th), 3rd (82nd), 5th, 6th, 6th
There are several teams who have QBs with some experience, but for various reasons could be interested in Changing horses.
17 Buffalo Bills T. Edwards
18 Carolina Panthers J. Delhomme
20 Jacksonville Jaguars D. Garrard
25 Chicago Bears Kyle Orton
Bills: Bills just added TO, and Let Losman Go. They have a good WR Corp, and Edwards was good early, but after being hurt regressed a bit. If they think Edwards won't return to early season form he could be trade bait. They also could part with Lee Evans or James Hardy as a WR to add to a trade.
(Update: added Ryan Fitzpatrick from the Bengals who played fairly well for an Ivy leaguer that was not expect to see time behind Carson Palmer and raw Matt Baker from UNC) Has Picks: 1st(11), 2nd(43), 3rd(75), 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th,
Panthers: Delhomme has always been a Rypien style QB, hit and miss, and his implosion in the Playoffs clearly has some in carolina upset. Management in Carolina may be interested in Cutler to move to a QB with more potential in their mind. Carolina is lacking in the draft pick department though, so I doubt they can pull off the deal.
(Update: Behind Delhome they have Matt More and Josh McCown.) Has Picks: 2nd(60), 3rd(92), 4th, 5th, 6th
Jags: David Garrard can be good when the running game is going, but like the Skins, when its gone he can't make the plays consistently. Cutler has proven that he can make plays even when the run game fizzles out, so he could be a good fit in Jacksonville, but questions about cost, and whether Denver would be interested in Garrard remain.
(Update: Behind Garrard Jax has Cleo Lemon, and Paul Smith the stand out from Tulsa who while a rookie this past year, does have some nice collegiate stats that could make him groomable). Has Picks: 1st(8), 2nd(40), 3rd(72), 4th, 5th, 6th
Bears: The bears let '****' Rexy Grossman go. His Jeckel and Hyde style of play finally wore out its welcome with Lovie Smith. Kyle Orton has shown glimpses of being servicable, but let's be honest, the Bears WR position is in worse shape than the Skins. With Grossman being let go because of his inconsistencies, it is not certain that they would want to add a new QB who maybe is even less careful with the ball. With their defense regressing in recent years, they don't have that to fall back on either. The Bears ownership has been slow to keep their own players, and not a usual player when free agency comes around, but their QB position is only marginally better than the Vikings.
(Update: Behind Orton the bears have two unknown quarterbacks, that I personally have never heard of.)Bears do have a full slate of picks: 1st(18), 2nd(50), 3rd(82), 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, plus any compensatory picks that may be awarded.
So this is nine teams that we can be certain might have an interest in an upgrade at QB (although I'm less certain about the bears having the stomach to pull a trade off.)
So right there I found nine Teams that could be looking to find better QB Play. Of what is left, what teams have new Offensive Coaches (probably) and may not be stuck with their starter:
30 St. Louis Rams M. Bulger
32 Cleveland Browns D. Anderson / B Quinn
Rams: Have had two down years in a row due to injuries to Stephen Jackson, and on their O-line, they would seem to have more important Offensive needs than QB at present, but they also need help at WR. QB would not seem to be there most obvious need.
(Update: Behind bulger have an unknown QB Jeff Otis out of Columbia) Has Picks: 1st (2nd), 2nd (35th), 3rd (66th), 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th
Cleveland I've doubled up here, because even if they were satisified with the QB play (they had some injuries), they still have turnover going on. I've already discussed how little Cleveland has to make this move.
That leaves the following three teams where they Are maybe not set long term at QB or might consider a change.
15 Philadelphia Eagles D. McNabb (Disgruntled and getting old)
19 Washington Redskins J. Campbell
31 Cincinnatti Bengals Carson Palmer
Eagles: Phily might not seem like a player, but they have a lot of draft picks, have an experienced QB in McNabb that the fans have never been 100% sold on, who also seems to be tiring with the Eagles FO. They Also have the 2nd Rd Draft pick from a year or two ago in Kerry Kolb. The Eagles don't like paying a lot for players, and they did bench Donovan last year after the loss to Cincy.
(Update: Behind McNabb are 2nd Year player Kerry Kolb, and A.J. Feely, Not sure either is worth it for denver.) Has Picks: 1st(21), 1st(28), 2nd(53), 3rd(85), 4th, 5th, 5th, 5th, 6th, 6th, 7th,
Bengals: Carson Palmer is a good QB when healthy and when he has protection, but their O-line has been pourus at best the last few years, and with the loss of Housh, are in sore need at WR. Marvin Lewis could perhaps want to cut ties with Palmer and Johnson at the same time and start fresh here, and do have good draft picks.
(Update: Behind carson is his brother Jordan out of UTEP, but he hasn't shown that he's ready to start since being drafted by the skins in 07.) Has Picks: 1st(6), 2nd(38), 3rd(70), 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th
So I have a hard time deciding who that 10th team might be. Is it KC? St Louis, Cincy? washington?... Cincy has had problems lately, and maybe starting fresh would be the best thing for them? They could trade Chad Johnson, and Carson Palmer for Cutler plus a draft pick, but would they? I dunno. So While Arizona may be interested in being in on a deal, or Tennessee, or Cleveland, I'm not sure they would call directly unless they were working with another team to get something they wanted.
So the odds are about 1 in 13 (Broncos excepted) that the Skins are interested, but given we can pair down that 15 to 9 with 3 left... That's a 1 in 3 chance that the Skins are the tenth team.... Again this could be Scary, or exciting, who knows, but its good to know that there is something worth talking about at least.
On a Packers note, it feels good to know our QB situation with Rodgers is set. The media is feeding on this, and it has almost that same feel as the NAME story did last year. I dont' think it will go away anytime soon.
