With Jay Cutler On the Way Out, What Are Denver's Options?

It's official. Denver Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler has officially been placed on the trading block, as Broncos owner Pat Bowlen has now gotten to the point of frustration.

“Numerous attempts to contact Jay Cutler in the last 10 days, both by Head Coach Josh McDaniels and myself, have been unsuccessful.

"A conversation with his agent earlier today clearly communicated and confirmed to us that Jay no longer has any desire to play for the Denver Broncos. We will begin discussions with other teams in an effort to accommodate his request to be traded.”

It would appear Cutler has handled this as poorly as possible, but he is still in high demand for teams in need of a quarterback. The Jets, Bears, 49ers, Buccaneers, Lions, Jaguars, Browns, and Redskins are all rumored to be interested in the Pro Bowl quarterback.

Despite the fact that Cutler has handled this poorly, and spectators feel that the Broncos have lost leverage, they really have not.

Cutler is still under contract with the team, and whoever wants to pursue him is going to have to break the bank, and likely involve a third team.

As of now, the team that would appear to have the most interest is the New York Jets, who could offer a large package of draft picks to the Broncos.

John Clayton of ESPN said in a recent interview with fellow ESPN co-worker Ari Horing, that there is a "good chance" Brady Quinn winds up in Denver somehow. Quinn has the obvious connection to the McBelicheck system, and is a young gunslinger.

Here is a proposed trade that is pure speculation on my part, but could be realistic:

Denver trades Cutler to the Jets for a their first round pick (No. 17 overall), second round pick (No. 52 overall), and a conditional draft pick in 2010 based on Cutler's performance in 2009. 

Denver then would trade the second-round pick acquired in the trade to Cleveland for quarterback Brady Quinn.

Cleveland could then move on with Derek Anderson as their quarterback, the Jets would get their franchise man, and Denver would get a young signal caller as well as two high draft picks to continue building their defense.

Personally, I feel that this new development has provided me with some closure, and I finally feel able to move on from this situation.  Cutler is no longer welcome at Dove Valley. 

I speculated early on in this process that Quinn would be the best option for the Broncos, and it could turn out that he wears a new shade of orange in 2009 and beyond.