Need a Quarterback? Why Not Cutler?

I know, crazy right? But hear me out. Maybe.

So, for some odd reason, the Chicago Bears seem inclined to let their quarterback, Jay Cutler, walk in the offseason. Cutler, the meme-made, chain-smoking, not-caring gun slinger of the Midway, is apparently a free agent after this season. The Bears haven’t had discussions with him to bring him back to the team, and they are allegedly looking for a “club-friendly deal” for Cutler, if he were to sign with the team. Meaning, a hometown discount, or, basically, they want to screw him out of money, like the Vikings tried to do with Matt Birk. And we see how that worked out (Birk went to the Ravens and won a Super Bowl).

So, the million dollar question; if Cutler walks in the offseason, should the Vikings try to sign him?

My initial reaction is “OH GOD YES SPLOOGE!”, while my second reaction is “Probably, why wouldn’t you try?”, and my third and final reaction is “Well, we have to wait and see”, because what if the best option for us is to take that franchise quarterback in the top three picks of the draft next year? We wouldn’t want to waste money on Cutler when we could just re-sign Cassel as a stop gap as the rook comes along, right?

Right. But what’s kind of interesting about Cutler, and this whole quarterback scenario, is that so much of it depends on different variables. And, honestly, there are some options out there for the Vikings, even if they can’t land their guy in the draft. I don’t have the list in front of me, but a bunch of interesting QB prospects, veteran guys who have played in the league for a while, will be on the open market, too. Matt Schaub is a free agent, Rex Grossman (Hey, he played in a Super Bowl, bro), Matt Flynn, Trent Edwards, Kellen Clemens, … This list is getting worse and worse. But you get the idea. Options are out there. Kind of.

And it’s no guarantee the Vikings get a top pick to get their franchise guy anymore, not with the Texans holding that spot down, and with the Vikings having a sudden bout of honor that they are playing with. With Adrian Peterson likely out for a while, though, there is a chance we won’t be *as* good as we could be, so maybe we’ll still lose for draft picks. But will it be enough?

If not, Cutler may – amazingly – be a realistic option. With his injury history, Josh McCown’s recent play at quarterback for the Bears, and the Bears precedent for getting rid of good talent in cost saving moves (See: Lovie Smith), why not let Cutler walk? Let him come to the Vikings, join the long line of former NFC North QBs who transferred teams to come play for the Vikings, like Jim McMahon, and of course Brett Favre. Imagine Cutler throwing darts to Cordarrelle Patterson 50 yards down the field, and Kristin Cavallari shopping at the West End. SO SEXY ALL AROUND!

Anyway, it could happen. I’d be cool if it DID happen, if no other options are really available. At the very least, we’d have another awesome character to play around with her, finally, as Cutler would DEFINITELY make this team more interesting.