Should The Jets Make A Play For Jay Cutler?
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A majority of New York Jets fans don't believe Geno Smith is the answer to the team's perennial search for a franchise quarterback.
And thanks to Sunday's win over Tennessee, Gang Green will need a lot of chips to fall their way to be in position to draft uber-prospects Marcus Mariota or Jameis Winston.
That brings us to Jay Cutler, whose days in Chicago appear to be numbered as the Bears (5-9) are benching their 31-year-old gunslinger in favor of backup Jimmy Clausen, according to multiple reports.
So, should the Jets make a play for Cutler if he becomes available? WFAN's Craig Carton says yes. His radio co-host, Boomer Esiason, isn't so hot on the idea.
"Jay Cutler is not the guy," Esiason said Thursday morning. "You can't make this happen. It just doesn't make any sense. Jay Cutler's personality is not going to go over well for Jets fans."
Cutler To The Jets?
One of the knocks on Cutler -- other than his play this season -- is that he's aloof. He didn't do much to fight that perception in Monday night's loss, his body language matching a brutal three-interception, seven-sack performance.
"The reason I believe he's benched over there -- I think they saw something from him on Monday night against the New Orleans Saints that was just so patently offensive, they wanted to get him off the field," Esiason said. "It almost looked like he didn't care. It almost looked like, you know, my offensive coordinator threw me under the bus two weeks ago, my offensive coordinator came back and apologized to the entire team, I now have an excuse not to want to play for these people."
The last thing the Jets -- 3-11 this season with Smith and Michael Vick splitting starts -- need is another high-profile question mark, especially at the most important position in professional sports.
But Carton thinks Cutler and his 183 career touchdowns could be worth the risk.
"Here's our sad reality," Carton said. "He'd be a lot better than anything else we've had since Brett Favre was quarterback. And that's why people -- Jets fans, myself included -- are so enamored with the possibility."
Moving the NFL's highest-paid offensive player won't be easy. The Bears would reportedly have to absorb a $19.5-million cap hit in 2015 if they release Cutler, who signed a seven-year deal in January. Any team willing to take him on in a trade would have to give up assets for a player who leads the league with 18 interceptions and 24 turnovers. Oh, and he's owed $15.5 million next season.
Maybe a fresh start could benefit all parties -- the Jets, Bears and Cutler. Or it could be a disaster in New York, a town that doesn't give much rope to star players on big contracts.
"You see him after these games. His press conferences are brutal," Esiason said of Cutler. "When things go bad, I don't necessarily know he's the guy that you want on your side to turn it around. And he (would) be coming into a bad situation."
What do you think? Would you want the Jets to make a play for Cutler?
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