Jay Cutler leaning towards staying in broadcasting
— -- Jay Cutler is leaning towards staying in broadcasting and not joining the Miami Dolphins sources close to the situation told ESPN Saturday.
Dolphins starter Ryan Tannehill suffered a left knee injury in Thursday's scrimmage that may require season-ending surgery.
Cutler became intrigued by the possibility of playing for head coach Adam Gase in the immediate wake of Tannehill's injury, his continued contemplation is swaying him back in the direction of staying retired.
Cutler has not reached 100 percent clarity on this decision, but it can now be characterized as extremely unlikely.
Should Tannehill need surgery, and the Dolphins reached an even more desperate point, Gase could go into a more passionate sales-pitch mode to pull Cutler back into the mix. Barring such a scenario, the Dolphins will likely need to start looking in a different place - or settle on backup Matt Moore - to handle their starting quarterback duties.
According to the second-year head coach, there was one preliminary talk with Cutler, but things haven't progressed beyond that at this stage.
"When I get there, I will be able to tell you, but I don't think it's close to anything," Gase said Saturday. "Like I said, I've had one conversation with [Cutler]. That's where we're at.
"I'm dealing with this [team] right now. When I know more, hopefully within the next few days, I will have a better idea of what's going on."
Gase said the conversation with Cutler was positive. The pair were together with the Chicago Bears in 2015 and developed a good rapport. Cutler had one of his better seasons under Gase, throwing for 3,659 yards, 21 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.
Cutler was released by the Bears this offseason and wasn't re-signed. He took a television job with Fox but seems open to returning to the NFL under the right circumstances.
"He's interested," Gase said of Cutler. "But we're just trying to figure out everything. You don't expect this to happen. ... I know I need somebody either way. I'd like to know exactly with Ryan first. So that helps me make a decision with what direction to go."
James Walker contributed to this report.
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