Dear Jay,
What's going on, man? Haven't heard from you in a while - seems like you've mastered the art of the low profile. I thought I may have heard your name bounce around in the news quite a bit the past couple of weeks, but they couldn't have been talking about you, could they?
You see, the Jay Cutler I remember is much different than the one that has come to the surface the past couple of weeks. The Jay Cutler I remember torched the Southeastern Conference defenses with his golden arm, serving as an integral piece in catapulting the Vanderbilt football program to national relevance.
The Jay Cutler I remember brought a competitive swagger to Nashville, a swagger that still bleeds through black and gold jerseys when September rolls around. In short, the Jay Cutler I remember was a fighter. Where did that Jay Cutler go?
Oh, you're in a fight now, I suppose. Except instead of fighting for your team, you're fighting against it and, in a way, against yourself. Sure, you have legitimate grievances against a Denver Broncos organization that fired the man who drafted you, hired a man who tried to trade you and along the way has done little to dispel the notion of their general ineptitude. But while the Broncos have done very little right in this scenario, you're helping them prove that they may not have been that wrong after all.
Everyone knows about your talents, Jay. You're a 25-year-old Pro Bowl quarterback who passes with precision, power and a prowess that hints at your unlimited potential. You have piloted a team with a Swiss cheese defense and a stable of unproven running backs to 17 wins over your two years as a starter, a win total that likely would have been cut in half without you.
You're also the guy who has favorably compared his arm strength to John Elway's, continuously pouted through newswires and his agent during the persistent trade rumors and whose strongest public statement to date was putting your Denver home up for sale in a housing market that may just be worse than your Broncos' defense.
Thus, depending on who you ask, you're either a golden boy or a royal pain, and there are plenty of teams willing to bet on the former. The Jets, Bears, Vikings, Lions, Buccaneers and 49ers, just to name a few, would all gladly aid you in your clear pursuit of a new address and may even put forth a down payment on your new home. The only one who can determine whether that would be worth their while, though, is you.
In a league dominated and mesmerized by the quarterback, you have the chance to turn your potential into prominence. In a sports world constantly thirsting for a good story, you can give it a great one.
In a bad situation, you can come out on top by showing up to a NFL facility (be it the Broncos or otherwise), checking your ego at the door and winning over your locker room and community much like you did here. Otherwise, a descent into irrelevance awaits, and you deserve better than that.
So, Jay, I look forward to hearing back from you and, the next time I see you, I hope you can help me answer this question:
Who is the real Jay Cutler?
Sincerely,
Your own personal Jiminy Cricket
