Quarterback Jay Cutler ended his short retirement and put his broadcasting career on the backburner. Cutler signed a one-year, $10 million deal with the Miami Dolphins to be their starting quarterback after Ryan Tannehill suffered a knee injury.
According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network Insider, the 34-year-old Cutler could earn an additional $3 million in incentives from the deal, which reunited him with head coach Adam Gase, who worked as offensive coordinator with the Chicago Bears in 2015. With Gase guiding him, Cutler revitalized his career in 2015, throwing for 3,659 yards and 21 touchdowns with just 11 interceptions.
The Dolphins are hoping that Cutler can regain his old form under Gase as Tannehill faces an uncertain future after injuring his left knee during practice. The Dolphins and Tannehill have yet to determine if he needs season-ending surgery on the same knee that he injured last season. Tannehill threw for 2,995 yards with 19 touchdowns and 12 picks in 13 games before he suffered the injury. Matt Moore took over when Tannehill went down with the injury but they lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Wild Card game.
Dolphins are loaded with outstanding receivers
Earlier, Cutler said he was at peace with his decision to retire and sign with Fox Sports as a football analyst, joining Charles Davis and Kevin Burkhardt.
However, the chance of starting again in the NFL proved too much to resist for Cutler, who was limited to five games with the Bears last season when he tossed four touchdowns and five interceptions with a passer rating of just 59.1. It will be an interesting situation for Cutler as the Dolphins are loaded at the receiver position with Jarvis Landry and Kenny Stills leading the way.
Flacco’s return remains uncertain
Meanwhile, Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh said the team has no timetable for the return of veteran starter Joe Flacco. In an interview with ESPN, Harbaugh said Flacco is getting better every day but his return remains uncertain. The head coach said he’s still awaiting word from the team’s medical staff on when Flacco will recover from his back issues.
As an option, the Ravens are considering free-agent quarterback Colin Kaepernick to compete with Ryan Mallett for the backup quarterback spot in case Flacco doesn’t recover in time for the start the regular season. Harbaugh and general manager Ozzie Newsome are both in favor of signing Kaepernick but team owner Steve Bisciotti reportedly opposed the idea.
