The Miami Dolphins brought Jay Cutler out of retirement for the 2017 campaign, but the veteran quarterback is undecided if he’ll return for 2018.
According to James Walker of ESPN, Cutler said he’s focused on Miami’s Week 16 game against the Kansas City Chiefs and will think about his future after the season.
“I haven’t thought about it. You know, I’m focused on [Kansas City]. That stuff will be a concern of mine when the season is over.”
Cutler has started 12 games for the Dolphins this year, throwing for 2,374 yards and 18 touchdowns while managing a 6-6 record. His typical inconsistently has flared, considering he’s tossed 16 interceptions at a rate of one pick per 3.6 pass attempts.
His performance is basically as good as Miami could’ve expected once a right knee injury put Ryan Tannehill on the sideline this year.
It’s likely the Dolphins will ultimately turn back to Tannehill, who started all 16 games from 2012-2015 and opened 13 in 2016. But if the franchise actually wants to move on from a not-great, not-bad Tannehill, waiving him would only result in $4.6 million of dead cap, per Spotrac.
However, even if Cutler wanted to return, it’d be a bold choice to choose him over the injured starter. Cutler is what he is, and thinking he’ll improve is unwise. Miami could give Tannehill one final opportunity in 2018 before moving a different direction next offseason, if necessary.
As a result, Cutler will probably need to find a different location in order to keep playing. And it might take a training-camp injury for that to happen and stop him from joining a broadcast booth for 2018.