Jay Cutler gets a lot of heat from Chicago Bears fans and NFL fans all over. Some of that is deserved, some not so deserved. But if there’s one thing Cutler has accomplished in the NFL it’s the fact that he’s remained a starter all of these years.
Cutler was selected with the 11th overall pick in that draft after the Denver Broncos reached a deal with the St. Louis Rams to trade up. His career in Denver was short-lived as he was shipped out to Chicago in 2009. If you remember correctly, that draft also featured Vince Young and Matt Leinart both coming off arguably the best college football game in history.
Both quarterbacks were also projected by many to be the next big thing and to be selected ahead of Cutler. Only Chris Mortensen and Ron Jaworski tabbed him better than than the two.
Now Cutler remains as the only quarterback from that 2006 NFL Draft to be left as a starter:
Starting QBs by draft class
'15: 2
'14: 3
'13: 0
'12: 6
'11: 4
'10: 1
'9: 1
'8: 2
'7: 0
'6: 1
'5: 3
'4: 3
'3: 1
'2: 0
'1: 1
'00: 1— Matt Miller (@nfldraftscout) February 10, 2016
Young (No. 3) and Leinhart (selected No. 10) both had short NFL careers and never really molded into much. In fact of the 13 quarterbacks selected in that draft, only Cutler and Tavaris Jackson remain on NFL rosters. Of the other 12, they have started a combined 142 games in the NFL. Cutler has started 134 and with a healthy 2016 season, he will beat that mark.
Whether or not you like Cutler, it’s easy to agree that he’s been able to stay in the NFL and be the starter. That’s something not a lot of quarterbacks are able to do. Enjoy it Chicago, because life before Cutler was rough and life after could be even rougher.
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