Jay Cutler: From Vanderbilt Commodore to NFL Quarterback

Jay Christopher Cutler, born on April 29, 1983, in Santa Claus, Indiana, is an American former professional football quarterback whose journey began in the small town of Lincoln City, Indiana, and culminated in a 12-season career in the National Football League (NFL). Before his professional career, Cutler established himself as a standout player for the Vanderbilt Commodores, earning accolades and setting records that solidified his place in the university's athletic history.

High School Career

Cutler's football career began at Heritage Hills High School in Lincoln City, Indiana, where he started as quarterback for three years. During his junior and senior years, he led the Patriots to a combined 26-1 record, including a perfect 15-0 season in his senior year. In that senior year, Cutler completed 122 of 202 passes (60.4%) for 2,252 yards with 31 touchdowns, while rushing 65 times for 493 yards with 11 touchdowns. He also played safety for three years, intercepting nine passes as a senior, ranking 12th overall in the state.

The culmination of his high school career was the school's first 3A state championship victory, where Heritage Hills defeated Zionsville in overtime, 27-24. Cutler's performance in high school earned him an offer to play quarterback at Vanderbilt University.

Vanderbilt Career

Cutler attended Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, where he continued his football career. He redshirted in his 2001 freshman season. Cutler started all 45 career games that he played for the Commodores, the most starts by a quarterback in school history. He did not miss a game in college due to injury. During his time at Vanderbilt, the Commodores had a record of 11-35, including 5-27 against the SEC.

Despite the team's overall record, Cutler's individual performances were noteworthy. In 2002, he set the school record for touchdowns and rushing yards by a freshman and rushed for more yards than any other Southeastern Conference quarterback that year.

2005 Season: A Standout Year

The 2005 season, Cutler's final year of play at Vanderbilt, was his most successful. As an 11-game starter, he completed 273 of 462 passes (59.1%) for 3,073 yards and threw 21 touchdowns and nine interceptions. Cutler became the first Commodore to win the SEC Offensive Player of the Year (coaches and media) since 1967. With his senior-season performance, Cutler became the second Commodore to throw for more than 3,000 yards in a season, while his 273 completions and 21 touchdowns ranked second on the school's single-season list.

He led the Commodores to victories over Wake Forest, Arkansas, Ole Miss, Richmond, and Tennessee. The Commodores also scored the second most points ever (42) laid upon the Florida Gators at their current home field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Cutler ended his career by leading Vanderbilt past Tennessee, 28-24, their first over the Volunteers since 1982 (the year before Cutler was born) and the first in Knoxville since 1975. Cutler passed for three touchdowns and 315 yards, becoming the first quarterback in school history to record four consecutive 300-yard passing performances. Cutler's final play in college was the game-winning and streak-ending touchdown pass to teammate Earl Bennett against Tennessee.

Records and Recognition

Cutler's accomplishments at Vanderbilt are reflected in the numerous records he set. A three-year captain and four-year starter, Cutler set all-time school passing records with 1,242 attempts, 710 completions, 8,697 yards, and 59 touchdowns. He finished his career at Vanderbilt by becoming the first quarterback in school history to throw for at least 300 yards in four straight games.

Senior Bowl Selection

Cutler's impressive senior season earned him recognition beyond the SEC. He was selected to play in the Senior Bowl, becoming the first Commodore quarterback to appear in the prestigious game since Bill Wade in 1952. Vic Knight, Senior Bowl media relations director, praised Cutler as "not only an outstanding talent and individual, but also one of the most exciting players in all of college football in 2005." Cutler himself acknowledged the importance of the opportunity, stating, "To have NFL coaches instructing you and to gain from their experience and have the opportunity to show what you can do is a big plus. I owe a lot to my coaches at Vanderbilt who have worked with me to help my progress."

NFL Career

Cutler was ranked by many experts as the third-best quarterback prospect in the 2006 NFL draft after Matt Leinart of USC and Vince Young of Texas. Cutler was selected, with the 11th pick of the first round of the draft by the Denver Broncos, who traded their 1st and 3rd round picks to the St. Louis Rams to move up. Many believed Cutler was chosen by the Broncos due to the lackluster performance in the previous season's AFC Championship Game of Jake Plummer. After the pick by Denver, Cutler said, "We had no warning. I think I knew about 15 seconds before everyone else did." Cutler, as predicted by most, was the third quarterback chosen, after Young (3rd overall) and Leinart (10th). He is the third first-round pick to come from Vanderbilt, preceded by Will Wolford and Bill Wade.

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Denver Broncos (2006-2008)

After a strong training camp in 2006, Cutler was promoted from third to second on the Broncos' quarterback depth chart ahead of Bradlee Van Pelt. Cutler took his first NFL snap on December 3 (Week 13), and, after some initial jitters (0-3 with sack and fumble), completed his first touchdown to tight end Stephen Alexander in the second quarter. In the fourth quarter, he threw a memorable 71-yard touchdown to fellow-rookie Brandon Marshall to tie the game 20-20. Cutler's first win came in his third start on December 17, which was a 37-20 road victory over the Arizona Cardinals. He finished the game 21-of-31 with 261 yards, two touchdowns, an interception, and a QB rating of 101.7, the highest for a Broncos' rookie since John Elway in 1983. One touchdown traveled 65 yards in the air, and was recorded as a 54-yard touchdown to Javon Walker on the Broncos' third play of the game. Shanahan said to the media, "You saw what he could do today." Cutler then led the Broncos to a Christmas Eve win over the Cincinnati Bengals, 24-23, in his fourth start on the season. He went 12-of-23 with 179 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. He also directed the Broncos on a 99-yard drive in the third quarter that culminated on a Mike Bell two-yard touchdown run. The Broncos' quest to clinch a playoff berth came up short in the final game of the season when they fell at home, 26-23, in overtime to the San Francisco 49ers. The loss dropped the Broncos to 9-7 overall and 4-4 at home.

The 2007 NFL season marked Cutler's first full season as the starting quarterback for the Denver Broncos. In the first game of the season against the Buffalo Bills, Cutler led Denver to a comeback win on a 12-play, 42-yard drive culminating in a Jason Elam 42-yard field goal as time expired. Cutler's pass attempts (39), completions (23), and yards (304) for the game were career-highs at the time. He led Denver to their second straight comeback win the next week in the home opener against the Oakland Raiders. Late in regulation, Cutler moved the team 78 yards in 15 plays for the game-tying field goal with 2:18 remaining. The game went into overtime, where he engineered a 52-yard drive that led to another game-winning field goal by Elam. After the bye week in Week 6, the 2-3 Broncos beat the 4-1 Pittsburgh Steelers, 31-28. Cutler had a QB rating of 106.7 and career highs of 75.9% passes completed, three touchdown passes, 41 rushing yards (including a long run of 31 yards), earning NBC Sunday Night Football's Horse Trailer Player of the Game (with Elam). Cutler finally had an interception-free game in his 12th start against the 6-1 Green Bay Packers, in which he drove 89-yards for a game-tying field goal in the last 2:27 of regulation, before losing in overtime, 19-13, on Green Bay's first play from scrimmage. In week 8, Cutler had just four attempts against the Detroit Lions before leaving with a leg injury; backup Patrick Ramsey floundered in a 44-7 loss. In Week 10, the 4-5 Broncos faced the 6-3 Tennessee Titans (and fellow 2006 draftee Vince Young for the first time) in a MNF game. Cutler posted a career-second-best 137.0 passer rating in a 34-20 victory. He was the first Broncos quarterback since Elway in 1995 to throw two 40+ yard touchdowns in a game (of the team's franchise-record four 40+ yard touchdowns that night), and the 5-5 Broncos moved into a tie with San Diego atop the AFC West. However, the Broncos won only one of the next five games, a 41-7 Chiefs blowout. Denver missed the playoffs for a second straight year. Cutler started all 16 games, completing 297-of-467 passes (63.6%) for 3,497 yards, 20 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. He was the NFL's 12th-ranked passer (88.1) and also had the tenth-most passing yards (3,497). Furthermore, Cutler was the league's ninth-best third-down passer, with a 92.1 passer rating (73-of-125 for 901 yards, eight touchdowns, and three interceptions).

Cutler started the season with a 41-14 Monday Night Football victory over Oakland. He completed 16-of-24 passes for 300 yards and two touchdowns. The next week, Cutler and the Broncos defeated the San Diego Chargers in Denver, 39-38. Cutler went 36-of-50, with 350 yards passing and a career-best-tying four touchdowns, including one to Eddie Royal on 4th and Goal with 0:24 left, followed by a game-winning two-point conversion again to Royal. The Broncos edged Tampa Bay 16-13 behind Cutler's 23-of-34 performance with 227 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions. The Broncos were 4-1 and leading AFC West. In game 11, Cutler's streak of games with a touchdown ended at 11 as he went 16-of-37 for 204 yards and an interception in a 31-10 loss to Oakland. He did, however, reach 3,000 yards on the season, tying John Elway by reaching this mark in 11 games. Cutler began December completing a season high 80% of his 40 passes for 286 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception in a 24-17 win over the Chiefs. The win came via a 95-yard drive and go-ahead touchdown pass to Brandon Marshall for Cutler's fourth rally of the season. However, Cutler was just 21-of-33 with 172 yards, one touchdown, and one interception in a 30-20 loss to Carolina, and despite 359 yards and 2 rushing touchdowns, had no passing touchdowns and one interception in a 30-23 loss to Buffalo. This set up a winner-takes-the-division season finale against the San Diego Chargers. Cutler finished the season with career-highs in passing completions (384), passing attempts (616), passing yards (4,526), passing touchdowns (25), interceptions (18), rushing attempts (57) and rushing touchdowns (2). At the time, his passing yards, completions and attempts were all single-season franchise records for the Broncos. He also had the most 300-yard passing games (8) in team history. For the season, Cutler ranked third in the NFL in completions (first in the AFC), second in passing attempts (first in the AFC), third in passing yards (first in the AFC) and seventh in passing touchdowns (third in the AFC). He was selected as the FedEx Air Player of the Week for his performances during Weeks 10, 13 and 14. He finished third in fan voting for AFC quarterbacks in the 2009 Pro Bowl, and was officially selected as a reserve.

During his three seasons with the Broncos, he earned Pro Bowl honors in 2008.

Chicago Bears (2009-2016)

The following year, Cutler was traded to the Bears, where he played eight seasons. His most successful season was in 2010 when he led the Bears to a division title and NFC Championship Game appearance.

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Cutler was the subject of most of the praise and criticism during the Chicago Bears' mercurial season. He began the season with 4 INTs in a loss to Green Bay, followed by seven touchdowns to one interception in three straight wins with a 100+ QB Rating. The Bears lost eight of the next ten games behind Cutler's 11 touchdowns vs NFL-leading 20 interceptions. This included a Week 9 loss to San Francisco where Cutler threw a career-high five interceptions and no touchdowns, and a Game 14 loss to Baltimore where Cutler had career-worsts of 94 yards and a passer rating of 7.9. But Cutler again reversed direction in Game 15 against Brett Favre's division rival Vikings, where he threw four touchdowns, including a go-ahead late in the 4th quarter, and 31-yard game-winner in overtime. He earned Offensive Player of the Week for his effort against the Vikings. He then ended the season with another four-touchdown outing and win over Detroit.

The Bears hired Mike Martz (famed for developing the St. Louis Rams' "Greatest Show on Turf") as offensive coordinator. Cutler led the Bears to a 3-0 start, throwing six touchdowns and only two interceptions. Martz retooled the offensive line and showed more commitment to the running game, allowing Cutler to escape the next three games with just six sacks total. He won those three, followed by then-career-bests of four touchdowns and rating of 146.2 in a win over the 7-3 Eagles (winning NFC Player of the Week), and an 80.8% completion percentage in a win over Detroit. After a 152-yard, no touchdown, two interception loss to New England, Cutler won back-to-back games with three touchdowns, one interception, and 100+ ratings in each, before dropping the season finale to Green Bay. The Bears finished with an 11-5 record, an NFC North title, and a first-round bye. In the NFC Championship Game, Cutler completed 6-of-14 passes for 80 yards and an interception, before a knee injury sidelined him early in the third quarter of a 21-14 loss to Green Bay. The Bears did not make an immediate announcement about Cutler's condition, allowing speculation to grow. In possibly the NFL's first player-on-player social media attack, Cutler was being criticized seconds after the injury by Maurice Jones-Drew, Darnell Dockett, Deion Sanders, and Mark Schlereth. Bears coach Lovie Smith later clarified that he, and not Cutler, made the decision after consulting the medical and training staff. The following day, an MRI revealed Cutler had sprained his MCL. Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman commented that the widespread reaction reflected hostility towards Cutler's career-long polarizing attitude. Bears teammates defended Cutler, and his critics themselves became the targets of insults from other players, including Packers Aaron Rodgers ("disrespectful"), LeRoy Butler ("stupid"), and B. J.

Throughout 2011, offensive coordinator Mike Martz was commonly criticized for aggressive play-calling in a pass-happy offense, leading to unnecessary wear on a quarterback returning from injury. In the season opener against the Atlanta Falcons, Cutler started the season off on a good note with 312 passing yards, two touchdowns, and one interception in the 30-12 win. In Week 2 against the New Orleans Saints, Cutler was sacked 6 times and kicked in the throat. During Week 6, Cutler was caught on microphone asking a player to go to Martz on the sideline, and, "Tell him I said fuck him!" Despite these incidents, by Week 10, Cutler had a QB rating of 85.7 (12th in the league) and the Bears were 6-3. However, on November 20, Cutler broke the thumb on his throwing hand tackling San Diego's Antoine Cason after an interception. He played through the final drive for the win, but the injury required season-ending surgery. Under backups Caleb Hanie and Josh McCown, the Bears lost six of their remaining seven games, and missed the playoffs. Cutler started his season by throwing an interception returned for a touchdown by the Colts' Jerrell Freeman.

Miami Dolphins (2017)

After being released by Chicago, Cutler spent his final season with the Miami Dolphins.

Legacy and Hall of Fame Induction

In his NFL career (12 years), Jay Cutler started 153 games and completed 3,048 passes in 4920 attempts (62%) for 35,133 yards and 227 touchdowns. Since being traded to the Bears in 2009, Cutler has become the franchise's all-time leader in every passing category with 3,134 attempts, 1,939 completions, 22,384 yards, 150 touchdowns and an 85.5 passer rating.

Cutler's achievements have been recognized with his induction into the Vanderbilt Athletic Hall of Fame. He will be among nine inductees, a group that also includes major league pitcher David Price. The class is the sixth since the Hall of Fame was created in 2008 and will increase the number of inductees to 56.

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