Cutler and his agent Bus Cook are saying that there were not multiple attempts made over the last week and a half to contact Cutler from the Broncos, but at this point isn’t that what we would expect out of this situation?  Is anyone surprised that both sides had completely different stories on what happens?  You shouldn’t be.

So where could Cutler end up?  The Lions are supposed to be one of the leaders in the Cutler sweepstakes but if they are sold on Matt Stafford they can get him for one first round pick, opposed to the multiple picks or players they would have to package to get Cutler.  The Browns are a possibility because they have two QBs in Quinn and Anderson to trade that could start for the Broncos.   Eric Mangini might not be sold on either of the QBs leading his team and might welcome the idea of adding Cutler.

Derek Anderson is similar in body and skill set to Matt Cassel but then the Browns would have a bit too much money locked into their QB position with Quinn and Cutler (two first rounders) under contract going into the season.  The Bucs could try and get in on it, but I don’t know if they have the ammunition for this type of trade, namely because they don’t have a QB or a D-Lineman to give them, so they would most likely need to get another team like the Browns involved to land Cutler.

The other side of this story is what will become of Denver’s QB position.  They have Chris Simms signed to an oddly large contract for a back up (six million for two years, more than either Orton or Grossman got from the Bears last season), he has lead a team to the playoffs before, and was once considered a bright young arm in the league.  But he has only thrown two passes since his freak spleen injury after which he was completely shunned and held hostage by John Gruden as the number three QB on the Bucs roster since he returned from the injury.

If the Browns are involved in the trade for Cutler the Broncos could end up with either Brady Quinn or Derek Anderson as their starting QB.  The wild-card scenario is drafting a QB, possibly by trading up in the draft using the picks they get for Cutler.  Word around the league as of late is that McDanniels is enamored with Mark Sanchez out of USC.  McDanniels thinks that Sanchez’s mix of leadership, accuracy, and work ethic to be a top notch QB in the league.  However, he does come from the Bellichick team which is used to winning with 6th rounders (Brady) or 7th rounders (Cassel) so grabbing a QB that high might not be in the plan, but at the same time it might make McDanniels ok with sitting Sanchez behind Simms for a season.

Whatever happens I would not be surprised if it happens soon so teams can get their draft boards straightened out.