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The Arizona Cardinals Should Trade For Jay Cutler

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By @bradberreman24

Jay Cutler, Chicago Bears, NFL Rumors, Arizona Cardinals

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Despite having three different quarterbacks start games this season, and four seeing some sort of action, the Arizona Cardinals are 11-4 and have clinched a playoff spot heading into Sunday’s regular-season finale against the San Francisco 49ers. Rookie Logan Thomas was initially expected to to make his first career start against the 49ers, but a report on Thursday from Kent Somers of The Arizona Republic suggests Ryan Lindley will start for the second straight week.

The Cardinals are a popular pick to make a quick exit from the playoffs this year, due largely to the lackluster quarterback situation injuries have left them in.

The team signed Carson Palmer to a three-year, $50 million contract extension in early November, and he promptly suffered a torn left ACL the following Sunday. It is the second ACL tear of his career, so the move to really front-load Palmer’s new contract looks particularly smart. ESPN’s Chris Mortensen reported, at the time of the deal, that the guaranteed portion of Palmer’s contract ($20.5 million) runs out after next season. So it’s effectively a season-to-season deal for the Cardinals after that point, which gives them some freedom that is now needed with Palmer likely to be sidelined well into the 2015 season.

Across the country, some changes surely look to be in store this offseason for the Chicago Bears, regardless of the result of their season finale against the Minnesota Vikings. Jay Cutler was benched in favor of Jimmy Clausen ahead of last week’s game against the Detroit Lions, but he will be back under center on Sunday after Clausen suffered a concussion during that game.

Marc Trestman is surely about to take part in his last game as head coach of the Bears, and his entire coaching staff as well as general manager Phil Emery may not be far behind. There is a chance Cutler, due mostly to the contract he signed last January, will be back in Chicago under a new coaching regime. But that will largely depend on who replaces Trestman and, perhaps by connection, who will be the Bears’ new offensive coordinator.

If Cutler is made available via trade, even with his mostly disappointing play this season, there should be no shortage of teams with interest in him under the premise of being able to fix his issues. Cutler has a clear tie to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the form of former Bears’ head coach Lovie Smith, and a few other teams (Tennessee Titans, New York Jets, Houston Texans) have been mentioned as potential suitors. But I think the Cardinals should look to trade for Cutler, and I expect to hear some whispers regarding their potential interest in him once spring comes.

Cardinals’ head coach Bruce Arians could be Cutler’s head coach in Chicago right now, but it was not meant to be. The Bears’ brass notably passed on this year’s sure-fire Coach of the Year in favor of Trestman two years ago, which seems to have set the stage for the team’s current level of dysfunction.

The vertical passing offense Arians favors looks like a great fit for Cutler, though he clearly needs some refinement of his decision-making skills and footwork. Arians may be just the guy to get through to Cutler and bring out his full potential on a consistent basis, even if the 31-year-old signal caller’s public persona does not change dramatically. But I also don’t think Cutler has to suddenly become an outwardly feisty leader to have a lot of success, and improvement in his level of play would deflect most of the criticism he has faced thus far in his career.

Thomas has the potential to become Arizona’s quarterback of the future, but Palmer’s injuries this season have exposed a dismal situation behind him for a team that otherwise looks ready to be one the league’s best. Despite the absence of multiple key players at various times, the Cardinals are in the Top 10 of the league in scoring defense (18.6 points per game; fourth) and run defense (102.2 yards per game; eighth) along with 18 interceptions (tied for fourth-most) with one game to go in the regular season. That performance has defensive coordinator Todd Bowles toward the top of any head coach candidate lists looking toward next season, and rightfully so.

Cardinals’ wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald is nearing the end of his Hall of Fame career, and with a restructuring of his contract likely coming, he should be back next season and be put in a position to play his entire career with the team that drafted him. Fitzgerald is clearly not the player he was in his prime but, as he winds down his career, the Cardinals would do well to upgrade their situation at quarterback and give him a renewed chance to win a Super Bowl.

It’s still possible the Bears don’t seriously look to trade Cutler this coming offseason, as unlikely as that seems all things considered, and releasing him would not be a savvy financial move with the money he is due to make over the next couple seasons. But I think a fresh start in a new market would do Cutler a lot of good, and deep down he has to know he is on the verge of his last chance to fulfill his potential and finally become one of the NFL’s top quarterbacks.

The mantra of “they are only a quarterback away” will surely be repeated consistently when talking about the Cardinals heading toward the 2015 season, assuming they don’t have a surprising postseason run in them this year. Palmer simply can’t be counted on make any kind of notable contribution next season, and barring a different move being made, Arizona’s quarterback situation looks shaky at best.

Adding Cutler would remove a big obstacle, in terms of having a healthy, proven quarterback in the fold above anything else, as the Cardinals look to continue to compete in the NFC West and the conference as a whole.

If Chicago’s eventual asking price is unrealistic that changes things, as that would particularly serve to narrow the potential trade market. However, if Arians can’t help bring out the best in Cutler, I suspect no coach can.

Brad Berreman is a Columnist at Rant Sports.com. Connect with him on Twitter or Google +.

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