Earlier this offseason, former Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo elected to retire from football and join us here at CBS rather than continue his career with another team. Now, former Bears quarterback Jay Cutler is reportedly considering making the same move into television.
The former Chicago Bears quarterback, who has received little interest from teams (at least as an unquestioned starter), is exploring a post-football career in broadcasting, according to multiple television sources and people with knowledge of Cutler's thinking.
Cutler and his representatives have spoken with network executives about football-related TV roles and sources said Cutler has auditioned with at least one network in recent weeks. It's unclear how far along Cutler is in the process and whether he's negotiating a contract, but his audition indicates he's serious about broadcasting.
NFL.com also reached out to Cutler's agent, Bus Cook, who stated that Cutler has not retired and "as far as I know, he wants to play football and would play if the right offer came along."
Cutler has received little interest on the open market despite several teams being in need of a starting-caliber quarterback. The Jets were reportedly interested earlier this offseason but ended up signing Josh McCown instead. The Texans took a pass and traded up for Deshaun Watson. The Browns weren't interested in snagged DeShone Kizer in the second round. The 49ers elected to go with Brian Hoyer.
It's possible a market for Cutler could develop as we get closer to the start of the 2017 season. Injuries happen, and a team could look his way if their starter goes down during training camp or the preseason. If he's really more interested in going into TV than playing somewhere other than Chicago, it may take more than a token offer to get him to lace up the spikes for one more year, but it seems unlikely that the booth is his first option. Cutler just turned 34 years old, so he's three full years younger than Romo, and his injury history, while lengthy, isn't quite as extensive or serious as Romo's.
