Monday Morning Digest: Jay Cutler-Dolphins Marriage Destined to Disappoint Mike Tanier
August 7, 2017
Charles Rex Arbogast/Associated Press
These are the dog days of training camp, when practices drag on, injuries mount and signing Jay Cutler to replace Ryan Tannehill actually starts to sound like a great idea.
From the Hall of Fame Game and ceremonies to weekend team scrimmages, there was plenty of NFL action this week that didn't involve Smokin' Jay storming South Beach, and this week's Digest has it all covered:
Paxton Lynch versus Trevor Siemian: The quarterback competition no one wants to win.
Holdouts, from Le'Veon Bell to Aaron Donald: Which team is most likely to sacrifice the season to save some money?
Rookie buzz: August is the time to anoint the next Jerry Rice and/or Terrell Davis. We've got your tickets for the rookie sleeper hype train.
Cowboys Hall of Fame Game debriefing: Find out if it's time to throw away that Taco Charlton jersey and buy a Rico Gathers jersey.
So don't let camp doldrums get you down. Come inside this week's Digest, cool off, and get ready for next week's preseason action!
Dolphins and Jay Cutler: Match Made in Heaven or Dangerous Liason?
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Jay Cutler and the Miami Dolphins: Never have a player and franchise who mean so little to so many attracted so much attention.
When Ryan Tannehill suffered a serious knee injury in a midweek practice, the Dolphins (coached by former Cutler handler Adam Gase) began passing notes under the desk to Cutler, who was initially slated for a role in the Fox broadcast booth. After some hand-wringing, the Dolphins and Cutler agreed to a one-year, $10 million contract that could be worth $13 million with incentives, per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.
Here's a breakdown of a relationship that has all the makings of an unholy matrimony. Why did the Cutler negotiations take all weekend?
Cutler was reportedly unsure whether he is still capable of giving an NFL team the signature Cutler commitment level. You know, roughly 80 percent.
(Yes, the Smokin' Jay perception of Cutler is a punchline caricature to some degree. But you don't get a five-year reputation for not caring by being the guy who cares most of all.) What does Cutler bring to the Dolphins?
Tremendous pure passing talent. A degree of dedication normally associated with a substitute teacher earning extra cash until his ska band breaks big. Cutler's relationships with many coaches sound like divorce court depositions, but he seems to like Gase and knows his system. Can Cutler push the Dolphins past the Patriots?
Could 1985 Joe Montana push the Dolphins past the Patriots? What were the Dolphins' alternatives?
Matt Moore looked sharp in some late-season 2016 starts, appeared to get KO'd by the Steelers in the playoffs, but practically climbed off a gurney to return and finished the game. Moore is an adequate spot starter, but counting on him for 16 games of playoff-caliber quarterbacking would admittedly be a stretch. Third-stringer Brandon Doughty is a pesky try-hard with a hinky delivery who maxes out as a poor man's Chase Daniel. What about Colin Kaepernick?
The anti-Kap movement likes to claim that signing Kaepernick would be a franchise-crippling distraction, so Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti obligingly turned the team's Kaepernick overtures into a week-long William Shatner Performs Hamlet melodrama, ensuring that everyone was as distracted as possible so the self-fulfilling prophecy could fulfill itself. From the Gase-Cutler relationship to owner Stephen Ross' work with RISE, the Dolphins happily used some of the several Get Out of Kaepernick Controversy Free cards at their disposal. Was this the right move?
The Dolphins are stacked at the skill positions, have plenty of talent on the offensive line and a potentially great front seven. It's a playoff-caliber roster, and Cutler should win a bunch of games with this supporting cast.
That said, Cutler just spent four full seasons disappointing the Bears at premium prices. What happens when the quarterback who always acted like an expensive mercenary is actually hired as an expensive mercenary?
Maybe we'll be writing Cutler redemption stories before the Super Bowl in February. It's more likely that Cutler will do a few things Moore cannot do and many of the things Cutler often does, including throw silly interceptions and visibly go through the motions when the chips are down.
That's what's so ridiculous about this signing. If the Dolphins get exactly what they paid for, they are guaranteed to regret it.
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Poster Comment:
Cutler was third string QB for the Chicago Bears last year.