QB Jay Cutler Traded To Chicago Bears

Better late than never, right? It's about time to start looking at fantasy football again. :D

The Denver Broncos traded Jay Cutler to the Chicago Bears for a 2009 1st round pick, 2009 3rd round pick, 2010 1st round pick, and Kyle Orton. The Bears also received a 2009 5th round pick.

It was quite a price to pay for the Bears, but given the team's notorious problems at the position and their inability to solve it either via the draft or free agency, I think the made the right move. Plus, their history of developing 1st round picks isn't the greatest, either. Obviously as a Bears fan I'm giddy about it, but even stepping back as a neutral NFL fan, it makes a lot of sense.

McDaniels is a moron by immediately alienating and then trading the best player on his team. He is getting an intelligent QB in return whom he can mold into a stop-gap for a future QB at some point, and I think Orton will be a solid QB for them. He already burned one of Denver's 1st rounders to move up for some random CB in the 2009 draft, so there goes that advantage from the trade.

Fantasy Impact: Obviously Cutler's value takes a hit as he moves from a sure-fire top 5 QB to someone who should finish more around the 8-10 range. Cutler is going to move from one of the most pass-happy offenses flush with receiving talent (Marshall, Royal, Scheffler) to a run-heavy offense void of elite receiving talent. However, Chicago has managed to produce a QB1 in the past in Grossman (1st half of 2006), granted he did it with Berrian and Muhammad, two legit receiving talents. Kyle Orton also had a 5 week stretch in 2008 (weeks 3-7) where he posted QB1 numbers as well, so it's possible, especially from a far more talented QB. It was obvious from Grossman's 2006 performance that Ron Turner can dial up a potent passing attack when he has a QB, and he'll get a chance to prove it this year. Cutler's ceiling isn't nearly as high as it was when he was in Denver, but his floor isn't nearly as low as some may think. Greg Olsen is primed to take a huge step forward as a potential elite TE1 this year, and Devin Hester could surprise as a WR3 possibility. Matt Forte's value will also increase with the additional scoring chances this offense is likely to create in 2009.

Brandon Marshall and Tony Scheffler will definitely see a value hit, especially Marshall as his deep threat ability will be kept in check by Orton's weaker arm. Eddie Royal will also see less deep balls, but he'll be catching a ton of passes in NE's knock-off offense.