Cutler and Young now on the outside looking in
It happens every year. Players projected to rise high in the NFL to the point where Paul Tagliabue says, “Houston is on the clock,” will somehow and for whatever reason fall from their projected positions, costing that player millions in player money. Guaranteed signing bonus and salary considerations. Sometimes it’s painful to watch one of the most compelling aspects of seeing the draft.
The unfortunate victim last year was Cal quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Two weeks before last year’s draft, Rodgers was generally considered the favorite to be selected first overall by the 49ers. That honor went to Utah’s Alex Smith, who ultimately signed a $49 million contract with more than $24 million guaranteed. For the next three hours, as other teams tried and selected out of necessity, ESPN showed shots of a dazed Rodgers sinking lower and lower.
More drama unfolded midway through the first round when it was announced that Washington had traded to move up to the 25th seed to guarantee getting Auburn quarterback Jason Campbell, who had outplayed Skins HC Joe Gibbs in workouts and interviews. Rodgers wasn’t even looking to be the No. 2 quarterback drafted. Rodgers was ultimately taken 24th overall by Green Bay as the heir apparent to Bret Favre. Unsurprisingly, Campbell was next to take Washington.
Do not misunderstand. We don’t have to pass the hat to Aaron Rodgers, but the money difference is huge. Rodgers, after missing four practices in mini-holdout, finally signed a contract nearly identical to that of Buffalo’s JP Losman, who was a late first-round pick by Buffalo in 2004. Rodgers’ contract was for five years for $7.7 million. , $5.4 million guaranteed, with scales that would increase the contract value to $30 million overall if all performance and roster bonuses were met.
After this week’s flurry of free agency activity, two quarterbacks who just two weeks ago appeared to be Top-10 slam dunk picks suddenly find themselves on the outside looking in. That would be Vanderbilt’s Jay Cutler and Texas’ Vince Young.
Cutler’s stock soared after a monstrous combination that saw him outrun many defensive linemen and then have the nerve to call the other QB hopefuls to come out and throw with him. No one accepted his offer. Cutler was believed to be highly coveted by the Jets and Raiders, but the Jets redid the Chad Pennington deal and landed Patrick Ramsey from the Redskins for a pizza and beer, allowing them to address other needs. The Raiders drafted their typical long ball project last year in Arizona State’s Andrew Walther and also added former Saint Aaron starter Brooks to the mix.
After arguably THE greatest bowl performance of all time, Young was thought to be a strong shot at No. 1 overall by the Texans. A local product, Young seemed like the perfect fit, but…the Texans decided to stick with the present and renewed their commitment to field #1 overall David Carr, clearing the way for USC running back Reggie Bush. The Saints at No. The #2 picks signed Drew Brees in a great deal and will probably go offensive/defensive line. NC State “Super” Mario Williams has been mentioned. With Titan’s signing of Norm Chow as their new offensive coordinator, USC quarterback Matt Leinart is a lock to go to number three. How often does your incoming rookie know the system better than your former All-Pro starting MVP?
With the Lions signing John Kitna and Josh McCown and the rest of the first round set to QB for the foreseeable future, that leaves the Cardinals at the 10th hole and the Ravens at 13th and possibly the Vikings at 17th. Cowboys after signing TO might be looking for someone to apprentice to Drew Bledsoe for a year or two, but with Bill Parcells still in control, Pokes is likely to move to the offensive line. us out I guess that’s life in the fickle, money-rich NFL.