The Miami Dolphins are reportedly ecstatic about signing Jay Cutler out of retirement in the wake of the injury to Ryan Tannehill.
Yes, you read that right. An NFL team is elated about landing Jay Cutler.
According to Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald, the Dolphins are “giddy” about this development.
“I got texts from multiple team sources late Sunday about how excellent a fit Cutler is and how well this addition can potentially work out for the Dolphins,” Salguero wrote.
Of course, anyone who’s been keeping track of Cutler’s Instagram posts knows he’s in fantastic shape (look here).
Quite honestly, it’s not hard to see why the Dolphins are excited about signing Cutler, who could be there longer than just the one year if things work out. We covered some reasons why Cutler was the right choice for Miami rather than Colin Kaepernick, who was also considered briefly.
The bottom line is that Cutler hasn’t let himself go. He’s still the same guy who can throw the ball a country mile and who knows head coach Adam Gase’s offensive scheme.
“He can make every throw you want, he has good skills and pocket presence,” Gase said. “He, you know, has a really good grasp for our scheme.”
Gase and Cutler worked together in Chicago when Gase was the offensive coordinator there in 2015. Cutler had a very nice campaign, completing 64.4 percent of his passes with 21 touchdowns and just 11 interceptions in 15 games. He’s now walking into a situation where Miami features outstanding offensive talent that just so happens to fit his own skills to a T.
Should the Dolphins feel “giddy” about Cutler? In a vacuum, probably not. He’s not an elite passer. He’s never done much in the postseason (1-1 record with two touchdowns and one interception) and was retired for a reason.
But this isn’t a vacuum. The Dolphins are a playoff team that lost its franchise quarterback, likely for the year, to a left knee injury — his second in less than a year. There weren’t many good options out there, and Cutler was by far the best one.
Time will tell whether he’ll be the savior this team needed or just a guy who gave the team and its fans false hope for a little while.