ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- Jay Cutler says he wants to break up. The Denver Broncos say they want to make up.
More on Cutler-McDaniels
However the drama in Denver plays out, it has stirred up plenty of debate. Thomas George says it is up to new Broncos head coach Josh McDaniels to fix the problem. Vic Carucci says the best thing QB Jay Cutler can do is stop pouting.
"The Denver Broncos confirm that Jay Cutler has requested a trade," team spokesman Jim Saccomano told The Associated Press.
McDaniels declined interview requests after telling The Denver Post that he wanted to meet again with Cutler to try to resolve their differences before he considers a trade.
McDaniels briefly addressed his broiling quarterback controversy when he gathered his team as a group for the first time Monday morning.
"He just addressed it and said, 'I'll take care of it,"' defensive lineman Kenny Peterson said.
Cutler is upset that the Broncos tried to trade him for New England Patriots quarterback Matt Cassel last month and what he considers McDaniels' misleading answers to his inquiries about those discussions. So, Cutler asked for a trade through his agent, Bus Cook, who engineered Brett Favre's departure from the Green Bay Packers last summer.
The Broncos declined Monday interview requests for McDaniels, general manager Brian Xanders and team owner Pat Bowlen. Cook didn't return calls to The AP.
The sides met face-to-face for the first time Saturday, and Cutler came away convinced that McDaniels wanted someone else under center, while the Broncos were incredulous that the gathering didn't result in a resolution to this nasty spat. They told Cutler they expected him to attend Monday's meeting and workout, even though it's voluntary.
**Cutler-McDaniels
feud timeline**
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Dec. 30: The
Broncos fire head coach
Mike Shanahan after 14 seasons, and
QB Jay Cutler responds by saying: "I'm disappointed, I'm shocked, I'm not happy about it, I'm not pleased with it at all."
Jan. 12: The Broncos introduce New England Patriots offensive coordinator
Feb. 12: The Broncos promote Brian Xanders to general manager. He takes over the team's player personnel decisions, which were formerly made by Shanahan.
Feb. 28: Cutler's name appears in reports about trade rumors involving Patriots QB Matt Cassel. Cutler voices his displeasure to the *Denver Post*: "I'm upset. I mean, I'm really shocked at this point. ... I liked it here, I liked playing with these guys, but obviously they're not going to let me have that opportunity." Cassel ultimately was traded to the Kansas City Chiefs.
March 1: McDaniels says the Broncos never initiated any trade talks regarding Cutler but did listen. McDaniels tells the *Denver Post*: "We don't want to trade Jay. We never did. He's our quarterback."
March 3: McDaniels tells the NFL Network: "Let me be as clear as I can about this. We are not trading Jay Cutler -- period."
March 10: A conference call between Cutler, McDaniels, Xanders, Broncos owner Pat Bowlen and chief operating officer Joe Ellis does little to quell tensions. The Broncos indicate the call went smoothly but won't say specifically what was discussed. A team official with knowledge of the conversation tells the Denver Post that the two sides didn't move further apart, but a source close to Cutler tells the paper that the QB came away from the conversation believing he still would be traded in the right deal.
March 12: Cutler puts his suburban Denver home up for sale. The Denver Post reports that a source close to Cutler said the QB, who also has a condo in downtown Denver, has considered selling the house for over a year. The source also said Cutler most likely will attend McDaniels' first team meeting Monday.
March 14:The Denver Post reports that the home of Cutler's parents, approximately two miles from the one the QB put on the market, also is for sale.
March 14: Cutler and McDaniels meet face-to-face but reportedly accomplish little in resolving their differences. The Broncos describe the meeting as a mild-mannered conversation, but Denver station KCNC-TV reports that the meeting didn't go well. According to the Denver Post, words were exchanged between Cutler and McDaniels.
Cutler told ESPN he would attend every mandatory minicamp and training camp, but he would skip the offseason training program, which won't subject him to fines. However, Cutler will miss out on a $100,000 bonus if he doesn't attend 90 percent of the workouts.
Cutler is entering the fourth season of a six-year, $48 million contract that he signed as a rookie.
Denver's coaches expect everyone to attend the team's offseason program unless they have an excused absence, such as newcomer Brian Dawkins, who helped the NFL Players Association elect a new executive director in Hawaii on Sunday.
"Right now we're just running and lifting," Peterson said. "You'd like to see everybody here. ... But we'll be all right. I mean, I got faith in the people upstairs and everything else that we'll be just fine."
The Broncos' first minicamp is scheduled for April 17-19, one week before the draft.
"Jay's a great quarterback, as we all know, very good teammate, good friend of mine," wide receiver Eddie Royal said. "But we've got to do what's best for the team and the organization. We've got a great coaching staff, great guys upstairs, and they'll make the right decision."
Cutler has been unhappy since learning that McDaniels, who was New England's offensive coordinator the last three seasons, entertained the notion of trading him to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a three-way swap that would have brought Cassel from the Patriots to the Broncos on Feb. 28. New England instead traded Cassel to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Cutler believes McDaniels misled him about those trade talks; McDaniels has said all he did was listen to the trade proposals, as he would with any player, as he tries to rebuild the once-proud Denver franchise.
The Broncos have been the NFL's most active team in free agency, signing 15 players, including quarterback Chris Simms, who received a two-year, $6 million contract, ostensibly to serve as Cutler's backup.
Peterson said the players aren't dwelling on the controversy.
"I mean, honestly we've been there all morning, not one person has said anything about it," Peterson said. "... We're worried about what we've got to run tomorrow versus what's going on."
Although the snit with Cutler and his refusal to show up Monday could serve to undermine the 32-year-old coach's authority, McDaniels commanded the room, according to Peterson.
"I don't care if he's 20, 40, 50, 60 years old, you're the head coach," Peterson said. "You're going to get the respect. No question about it."
Newly signed cornerback Andre' Goodman said McDaniels asked the players not to talk about what he said in the meeting regarding Cutler. Still, there was a major void in the room with Cutler missing, Goodman said.
"I think the quarterback is the face of the team," Goodman said. "You take the coach out of it, and he is the face of the team."
Perhaps subconsciously, Royal slipped into the past tense when speaking about Cutler.
"As you know, he was a great competitor, you always saw in his eye that he wanted to win, came to practice prepared every day," Royal said. "So, you knew what you were getting out of Jay."
The question now is whether the Broncos will get anything more out of him on the football field or by way of compensation in a trade.
Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press
