NFL Spin Zone
Fansided

How valuable is Jay Cutler?

By Dan Salem

facebooktwitterreddit

How valuable is Jay Cutler? The Chicago Bears appear to be cutting bait and the rest of the NFL should be licking their chops. With the money right, Jay is a must own QB. Dan Salem and Todd Salem debate in today’s NFL TD Sports Debate. Two brothers from New York yell, scream and debate the NFL and sports.

DAN:

After six seasons with the Chicago Bears, it appears Jay Cutler will be available. As everyone else wonders if the Bears are making the right decision, keep him or release the man and save a lot of money, more interesting is where Jay Cutler fits. What’s his value as a quarterback?

A career 61% completion percentage is nothing to brag about, but what impresses me about Cutler are his yardage numbers. In two of his three seasons with the Denver Broncos Jay threw for over 3,000 yards, with one season over 4,000 yards passing. In four of six seasons with Chicago Cutler threw for over 3,000 yards, including last year. The touchdown numbers are admittedly lagging behind and Jay has thrown double-digit interceptions in seven seasons. But he’s still a top-tier starting quarterback. He’s a cocky gunslinger with veteran pedigree.

Credit: Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports

Cutler is extremely valuable. I understand a monetary decision by Chicago, but every other NFL team in need of a starter at QB would be foolish to ignore his value. Jay ranked 10th overall in the league in touchdowns in 2014, 13th in yards, and 8th in completion percentage. He was 8th in completing his passes, yet worst at throwing interceptions. Considering his other stellar numbers, which do you think was the bigger statistical aberration?

As for a fit, I don’t see a bad one. New York, Houston, Tennessee, Oakland, Arizona, and St. Louis are just a few franchises that should take a long, hard, look at Jay. A team could only hope their new rookie quarterback performs up to Cutler’s level after a season or two.

More from Chicago Bears

TODD:

There is a fascinating dynamic developing around this situation. On the one hand, Jay Cutler is inarguably one of the more talented passers in the NFL. On the other is, well, everything else.

You are correct in saying that Chicago moving on from Cutler will save them some dough, $10 million flat for next season alone if they release him by March 12 according to ESPN. But cutting him also rids the team and the city of his…antics.

It’s not that Cutler is a bad guy by any means. He shows a poor demeanor and bad body language though. He doesn’t always act like a team leader. And, as you pointed out, he throws a lot of interceptions, and bad ones! Those are all reasons to consider cutting him, as well as reasons a new team might be hesitant to bring him in.

Credit: Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports

The remaining stats are also not as completely in his favor as you seemed to imply. 3,000 yards isn’t what it used to be; hell, 4,000 yards isn’t either! Among active quarterbacks, Cutler is tied with Andy Dalton (fittingly!) at 14th with a 85.2 career QB rating, according to Pro-Football-Reference. He’s significantly older than the also-maligned Dalton, plus has not been getting his team to the playoffs like his Cincinnati counterpart.

I would imagine the feeling around the league from everyone outside of the Bengals and Bears is that these two QBs are solid, mediocre, useable, whatever less-than-exciting adjective you want to use. But they would only be options for teams without other options.

Of course, fortunately for Cutler and his agent, should the vet be released, there are a number of teams around the league that don’t have options to turn to at that position right now. So you are technically correct in saying that teams would be foolish to ignore his value, as long as they are actually sure on what his value is. He’s a middle-of-the-road starting quarterback in this league.

Next: Could Cutler redeem himself in 2015?

More from NFL Spin Zone

Home/Chicago Bears