Cutler retires to take job as NFL analyst with Fox
Quarterback Jay Cutler finally has landed a new job, but in the TV booth, not on an NFL sideline.
Cutler retired from the NFL after 11 seasons to become a colour analyst on NFL games with Fox Sports.
He’ll work in a three-man booth with play-by-play man Kevin Burkhardt and analyst Charles Davis.
In a statement, Cutler said: “I don’t know if retirement is the right word. I don’t feel that anyone ever really retires from the NFL. You are either forced to leave, or you lose the desire to do what’s required to keep going. I’m in between those situations at this point in my life.
“Words can’t express how grateful I am to everyone who helped me along my journey.”
Cutler, who turned 34 on Saturday, thanked family and football coaches he has had, and cited a quote attributed to rocker Henry Rollins: “I did that, I gave everything I had to give to that. Now, if I returned to that it would be repetition — it might be fun repetition, but it wouldn’t be meaningful repetition.”
In three seasons with the Denver Broncos and eight with the Chicago Bears, Cutler threw 208 touchdowns and 146 interceptions. Cutler finished with a 68-71 record as a starter.
He played in only two playoff games, both with the Bears in 2010.
Cutler earned $112 million over 11 those seasons, according to prosports salary website Spotrac.com.
Former Dallas Cowboys’ quarterback Tony Romo retired from the NFL last month to similarly take a high-profile TV analyst job, but with CBS.
Canadian campers: Seven Canadians are taking part in NFL rookie mini-camps, this weekend or next. One player was drafted, three signed as priority post-draft free agents and the other three received invitations to try out:
OT Justin Senior, of Montreal, ■
Mississippi State, sixth-round draft pick, Seattle Seahawks, May 12-14 rookie mini-camp.
OG Geoff Gray, of Winnipeg,
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University of Manitoba, free-agent signee, Green Bay Packers, Friday and Saturday.
TE Tony Auclair, of NotreDame-des-Pins,
■ Que., Laval University, free-agent-signee, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Friday to Sunday.
DL Eli Ankou, of Ottawa, UCLA,
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free-agent signee, Houston Texans, May 12-14.
LB Christophe Mulumba Tshimanga,
■ of Montreal, University of Maine, tryout, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Friday to Sunday.
LB Jordan Herdman, of Winnipeg,
■ Simon Fraser University, tryout, Kansas City Chiefs, Saturday to Monday.
K Felix Menard-Briere, of
■
Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts, Que., University of Montreal, tryout, New York Giants, May 12-14.
Charles in hall: Stefan Charles, a fifth-year NFL defensive tackle from Toronto now with the Jacksonville Jaguars, will be inducted Saturday into the Ontario Varsity Football League Hall of Fame at McMaster University in Hamilton. Charles played in the developmental league with the Metro Toronto Wildcats.
Teddy improving: Maybe Teddy Bridgewater some day returning to the Minnesota Vikings isn’t a long shot after all. Head coach Mike Zimmer said Friday he’s “probably more optimistic about him potentially playing than I have at any point,” since the 24-year-old quarterback suffered a gruesome dislocated knee and torn ACL in training last year. Zimmer cautioned, “but he still has a long way to go.”
The Vikings did not pick up the fifth-year option on Bridgewater’s rookie deal by Tuesday’s deadline. Everywhere a signing: With little to negotiate under the narrow salary parameters of the players’ collective bargaining agreement with owners, draftees this week already have begun to sign contracts. The Carolina Panthers have signed all seven of theirs, including first-round running back Christian McCaffrey.