After a solid three months of retirement, Jay Cutler is back in the NFL, on a one-year deal from the Miami Dolphins.
Cutler, who gave up a cushy analyst job at Fox to get back on the field, held an introductory press conference Monday, and a few aspects of the event raised eyebrows.
The quarterback said (joked?) that he doesn’t need to be in “cardiovascular shape” to play quarterback…
"The good thing is I play quarterback, so I don't have to be in that great of cardiovascular shape," — Jay Cutler.
— Conor Orr (@ConorOrr) August 7, 2017
He said his wife had to talk him into playing…
A very happy and effusive #Dolphins QB Jay Cutler says his wife pushed him to play. … And says it felt like Adam Gase was recruiting him.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 7, 2017
And he explained that his offseason preparation included throwing a football with his kids and playing basketball.
Oh and he generally looked as if he’d been taken hostage.
Sup. pic.twitter.com/QRAqsevdZ1
— Jason Lieser (@JasonLieser) August 7, 2017
The image almost immediately become somewhat of a meme.
Great pic of Jay Cutler at his presser today. He's ready. pic.twitter.com/WiSf2ePHwZ
— JJ Zachariason (@LateRoundQB) August 7, 2017
https://twitter.com/BarstoolJJ/status/894626658199777280
when you're back at work but you can't stop thinking about vacation pic.twitter.com/xIvnMFBXuC
— Danny (@recordsANDradio) August 7, 2017
— Andrew Gruttadaro (@andrewgrutt) August 7, 2017
https://twitter.com/Sam_Vecenie/status/894628447833673728
Jay Cutler is the people's quarterback because he just looks like a stay at home dad who hasn't had his morning coffee pic.twitter.com/ieZU5g4NJ7
— Bobby Football (@Rob__Paul) August 7, 2017
"I wish I cared as little about anything as Jay Cutler cares about everything" – @PFTCommenter pic.twitter.com/IqOba1A5z4
— Crisis Actor Bagger Vance (@MrBrendan23) August 7, 2017
All of this is enough to make you think maybe Cutler shouldn’t have given up his broadcasting job, burned bridges at Fox and jumped into an NFL gig after an offseason of naked vacationing.
Ok, so we’re being a little bit harsh here. When you watch the six-minute press conference, Cutler seems enthusiastic, realistic and even kind of likable. It’s not his fault he has Resting Dejected Face.
Jay Cutler speaks for the first time as quarterback for the @miamidolphins. https://t.co/M4vGYJBBrd
— NFL (@NFL) August 7, 2017
Press conference facial expressions aside, this experiment still looks destined to fail. Last season the quarterback played only five games due to injury, throwing four touchdowns and five interceptions. Now he’s supposed to pop back into a uniform a month before the season begins and helm a playoff team? From Cutler’s perspective, that sounds unappealing. From the Dolphins’ perspective… you might rather just settle for Matt Moore.
On the bright side, at least everyone’s favorite punching bag QB will be around for another year?
When you're blessed with another year of Jay Cutler memes pic.twitter.com/hL0jwFJujn
— Ricky O'Donnell (@SBN_Ricky) August 7, 2017
