Jay Cutler's Deal With The Miami Dolphins Makes Little Sense

Jay Cutler has signed a one-year, $10 million contract (with a potential of $3 million more in incentives) with the Miami Dolphins, after Ryan Tannehill was diagnosed with a partially torn ACL. Cutler will reunited with Miami head coach Adam Gase, who was his offensive coordinator with the Chicago Bears in 2015.

This signing doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. Cutler has never been more than an average quarterback, and at worst he’s downright awful. In 2016 he lost his job to Brian Hoyer and at various points during his tenure with the Bears he was supplanted by Jimmy Clausen and Matt Barkley.

In 2015 under Gase, Culter completed 64.4 percent of his passes for 3,659 yards, with 21 touchdowns and 11 interceptions in 15 games. It was arguable Cutler’s best season, but he still took far too many chances with the ball and hurt the Bears on a fairly consistent basis. For his career, Cutler had a passer rating of 85.7.

In 2016, Cutler played in five games, completed 59.1 percent of his passes and threw for 1,059 yards, with four touchdowns, five interceptions and five fumbles. Basically, at 34 years old, Cutler probably still has the big arm as always, but the awful decision-making we’ve become accustomed to.

Quite frankly, the Dolphins might have been better off going with veteran backup Matt Moore. In four games last year in Gase’s system, Moore threw for 721 yards and eight touchdowns with just three interceptions. He completed 63.2 percent of his passes and posted a 105.6 passer rating and a Total QBR of 81.7.

Moore is beloved by his teammates, universally respected and has been in Gase’s system for the past year. How is he not more equipped than Cutler, who has been out of football since the Bears released him in March? And let’s remember, Cutler isn’t exactly a teammate who inspires those around him.

It feels like the Dolphins made a move to make a move, not because Cutler actually makes them a better team.