Could Jay Cutler Have Been The Redskins' Starting Quarterback?

As Kirk Cousins fills in admirably for the oft-injured Robert Griffin III, the Redskins, despite their efforts to extinguish a possible quarterback controversy, will certainly have to wrestle with that decision eventually.

Yet what if Jay Cutler, currently starting for the Bears, was under center for Washington? According to a lengthy report from CBS Sports, that came quite close to happening.

Jason La Canfora offered the timeline and details of the potential trade, including the Redskins' offer to the Broncos of two first-round picks for Cutler, who wanted to follow Mike Shanahan after souring on replacement Josh McDaniels. As you may recall, it took three first-round picks and a second-rounder for Washington to move up in the 2012 draft to select Griffin.

According to La Canfora, Denver wanted an experienced quarterback as part of the trade, and the Broncos felt more comfortable with Kyle Orton in Chicago than Washington's Jason Campbell.

Cutler ultimately ended up with the Bears, but it is interesting to think of what may have happened in Washington if he was the starting quarterback. Cutler

“It totally changed three organizations, and the direction they all went,” said Vinny Cerrato, now a sports talk show host in Baltimore but a former member of Washington's front office. “You look now with Cutler, and (Bears coach Marc) Trestman is going to make a player out of Cutler, and Cutler's grown up now, too. I'm a big Cutler fan. Cutler's going to be a Pro Bowl guy. And Denver, Josh, that was just a matter of time.

"That was a time bomb to go off there … Mike would have never traded for McNabb … And you think of what they could have drafted with those picks (three first-round picks and a second-round selection), if you got some receivers and some offensive linemen -- just the depth they would have had. They wouldn't have to spend it all on a quarterback. It would have changed the outcome of a lot of organizations, but things happen for a reason.”


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