It's Official: The Broncos will trade Cutler!

[Kevin Greene]

‘Skins Chasing Cutler

Posted by Mike Florio on April 1, 2009, 9:10 p.m.

We’ve been hearing for weeks that the Washington Redskins are interested in Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler.

And now they’re acting on it.

According to Jason LaCanfora of the Washington Post, the Redskins are “actively pursuing a trade” for Cutler.

The Redskins declined comment, which suggests to us that it’s legit.

If they weren’t chasing Cutler, they’d say so. Just like they said so when they didn’t want T.O. And just like they said so when they denied a report of a three-team deal that would have brought Cutler to the Redskins. And just like they did earlier today, when they got out the word that rumor/report of a fairly recent meeting between owner Daniel Snyder and former Broncos coach Mike Shanahan is false.

Speaking of Shanahan, Mike Lombardi pointed out during our NFLN-style all-Italian Mike & Mike segment on Wednesday night’s Total Access that Shanahan would surely be talking to the Redskins about Cutler.

As the other Italian Mike pointed out, the discussions could be a precursor to Shanahan becoming the next coach of the Redskins, in 2010.

Or maybe sooner.

It’s unknown what the Redskins would send to the Broncos for Cutler. Washington holds the thirteenth overall pick in the draft, and that’s likely not high enough for the Broncos to land one of the top quarterbacks in the draft.

The other problem is timing. If (as I think I said during the NFLN segment but it was live and I was nervous so who the hell knows?) the Broncos stand in the shoes of any other team at the top of round one before draft day, teams picking below that spot will then have an opportunity to leapfrog the Broncos.

That’s why any trade involving one team moving into a certain spot in the draft should be finalized only when the team giving up the spot is in position to use its pick. And that’s why if the Broncos plan to get their next quarterback with a first-round pick they get for Cutler, both sides need to assume full radio silence until the Redskins or whoever in the hell gets Cutler is on the clock.

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[Fireball77]

I heard Florio on that segment. I thought that was a pretty good point he made about the timing of announcing the trade. I also thought it was interesting that Lombardi (in his column on NFP, not much on NFLN) said that the reason this decision suddenly happened to trade Cutler is that the Broncos mush have decided on who they want to replace him.