Jets interested in Jay Cutler as veteran QB to be released by Chicago Bears: source - New York Daily News
As the quarterback carousel turned quickly in the NFL Thursday, the Jets were left staring at what could be an unpopular option: Jay Cutler.
Gang Green is interested in the former Bears QB, according to a source. It figures, because the team is running out of other choices to stand under center.
Cutler was released by the Bears Thursday evening and is a free agent. The Bears were always expected to move on from him, particularly after it became clear that they would sign Mike Glennon to be his successor.
Cutler, 33, is a divisive quarterback that is coming off of an eight-year run with Chicago in which he and the team never reached the heights they hoped for when he began his tenure there in 2009. Known for being irritable at times, Cutler could be an interesting fit in a place with a tough media market like New York and a ticked off fan base like the Jets have.
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For Cutler, coming to the Jets probably isn't ideal because he would be a veteran entering a rebuilding situation. The Jets, quite simply, are more than just a quarterback away from contending. But at the same time, Cutler, like the Jets, may not have many other options.
The Jets need to add a quarterback because the only two slated to be on their roster at the moment are Christian Hackenberg and Bryce Petty, neither of whom has proved he is capable of being a starter so far. Geno Smith and Ryan Fitzpatrick are both free agents.
On the field, Cutler has been palatable at times but has also often struggled with throwing too many interceptions. In addition, Cutler is coming off of an injury-plagued season in which he played in just five games. After playing in the first two games of the season, Cutler missed the next five with a thumb injury. He eventually returned to action and played in three more games for the Bears but tore his labrum in a November loss to the Giants. That injury required surgery and ended his season.
When on the field last season, Cutler largely struggled. The Bears were 1-4 in games Cutler started last season and the QB threw for a passer rating of 78.1 in those five games.
In his last mostly full season, 2015, Cutler was actually solid despite leading the Bears to a 6-9 record in games he started. That year, Cutler threw for 21 touchdowns and 11 interceptions — even after losing Brandon Marshall to the Jets — for a passer rating of 92.3.
After eight seasons in Chicago, Cutler leaves with a 51-51 record as the Bears starter.
"I would like to first thank the city of Chicago and its passionate fans for a memorable eight years," Cutler said in a statement, via the Chicago Sun-Times. "I grew up in Indiana rooting for the Bears as a kid, so it was an honor to wear the Bears uniform and play quarterback at Soldier Field for my favorite childhood team."
Cutler was drafted 11th overall by the Broncos in 2006. He took over as the starter with five games left that season and then started 16 games each of the next two seasons for Denver.
After Josh McDaniels took over as head coach of the Broncos, he and Cutler clashed and the quarterback requested a trade. In April 2009, the Bears traded two first-round picks and a third-round pick for Cutler and a fifth-round pick.
Cutler spent the next eight years with the Bears, reaching the postseason just once in 2010.
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