According to FoxSports.com's Jay Glazer, the Chicago Bears have
acquired QB Jay Cutler from the Denver Broncos. They'll also receive
Denver's fifth-round pick (No. 18 in the round) in this year's draft.
In return, Denver will receive Chicago's first (No. 18 overall) and third-round
(No. 20 in the round) picks in this year's draft and Chicago's first-round pick
in the 2010 draft. They'll also receive QB Kyle Orton.
A league source indicated to Scout.com that Cutler has three years left
on his rookie contract and said Denver will take about a $1.6 cap hit with the
trade. Should Chicago decide to extend or re-work Cutler's deal, it shouldn't be
a problem because the source notes they had over $25 million in cap space
available as of earlier this week.
In the end, other league sources said there were only five teams that showed
real interest in Cutler over the last 48 hours (the Cleveland Browns, New York Jets, Washington Redskins, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Chicago). As of early
Thursday morning, Washington seemed like the frontrunner, sources said, but
Chicago offered the best package of compensation later in the day.
Denver now has five selections (No. 12, No. 18, No. 48, No. 79, and No. 84)
within the first three rounds in this year's NFL Draft.