Jay Cutler has joined the Miami Dolphins as their new quarterback, a move that will produce a ripple effect across the NFL. Cutler's signing likely won't drastically change what happens in the NFL this year, but the signing will cause an impact for several teams and players. Several of these are rather simple effects, but there are some more long-term impacts. With that in mind, here's what the Jay Cutler signing means for the Dolphins, Cutler, Ryan Tannehill, Jay Ajayi, Jarvis Landry, DeVante Parker, Colin Kaepernick, Fox Sports and more.
Dolphins Impact
The decision to sign Cutler means the Dolphins didn't want to start Matt Moore and that they're still committed to making a serious playoff push. In the same way the Vikings traded for Sam Bradford, the Dolphins signing Jay Cutler is a win-now move. Cutler, despite being a trendy target for criticism, is a starting-caliber NFL QB. One of his better years came with Adam Gase in Chicago, when he completed 64.4 percent of his passes for 3,659 yards, 21 TDs and 11 INTs. Of course, Cutler also needs to get back into an NFL regime since he's coming off an injury and did retire.
Ryan Tannehill (This Year And Future)
Tannehill reportedly has a partial torn ACL and although the team hasn't made a decision about whether he'll undergo surgery, the signing of Cutler is not a promising sign. Adding Cutler indicates the team doesn't expect Tannehill to play this year. It's likely Cutler is back for just one year, although Ian Rapoport says there is a chance it ends up being longer than one year. Assuming it is just a one-off for Cutler, the question becomes what happens to Tannehill in 2018. He'll be 30 years old and coming off a second knee injury. Tannehill's contract is structured in such a way the Dolphins can get out of the contract after this year, but they'd need a viable replacement plan. That's clearly not Matt Moore and give Cutler's age, he's not the answer either. Miami could look toward the draft, but it's far more likely they stick with Tannehill going forward.
Fantasy Impact
Several players will have their fantasy values impacted by this signing. Ryan Tannehill, obviously, is undraftable. Cutler isn't really worth drafting in 10 or 12-team leagues, but he'll be a potential streaming option during the season. He's outside the top 20 at QB for me, but does have value in 2-QB leagues. RB Jay Ajayi's value should stay the same. He remains a low-end RB1 for me and worth taking in round two. The offense will continue to heavily feature him.
Where things could change more drastically is at WR, where Jarvis Landry and DVvante Parker are the top fantasy options. (Sorry Kenny Stills, you're still a massive boom-or-bust play with more busts than booms). Cutler has always preferred bigger WRs, even with Gase in Chicago. Cutler didn't take shots in the short, middle area of the field with Gase in Chicago, but personnel likely played a role in that. Cutler had Eddie Royal in Chicago with Gase and now he has Jarvis Landry. Gase won't let his QB ignore his best WR, but Landry could see a slight reduction in targets. He'll remain a low-end WR2 or flex play in standard (with a big boost in PPR), but Landry should slide a few spots in drafts. He'll fall just outside of my top 20, but it's not a steep drop.
Parker, meanwhile, could get a boost. He's the closest thing to a Brandon Marshall or Alshon Jeffery on the Dolphins' roster and there was already buzz about a potential breakout year. He's the No. 38 WR off the board and that could rise with the Cutler signing. There's a good chance he'll climb too high in drafts, but he's a worth taking as a high WR4 with the hope he'll become even more in a what could be a breakout year.
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Jarvis Landry
Landry's fantasy prospects were discussed above, but this is more about his long-term future with the Dolphins. Giving Cutler his contract cuts the Dolphins' cap space down to just under $8 million, per overthecap.com. That limits the rollover money the Dolphins will have next year, a big problem for a team that's tight on cap space. The Dolphins have just over $3 million in cap space next year and have pending free agents in Landry and other lesser veterans like T.J. McDonald, Nate Allen, Anthony Fasano, Jermon Bushrod and Matt Moore.
They can make free up by restructuring Ndamukong Suh's contract ($26.1 million cap hit) and/or releasing players like Byron Maxwell ($10 million in savings), but money is going to be tight. Landry is the only one in line for a big pay day, but the Dolphins will still need to pay their rookies and fill out the rest of the roster. The franchise tag for WRs next year will likely be around $15 million, a high figure for a team with bottom-three cap space for next year. The addition of Cutler increases the chances the Dolphins will lose Landry next offseason, even though both sides want him to stay.
Rest Of The NFL
For most of the NFL, nothing really changes. The addition of Cutler doesn't really make the Dolphins better, and Miami's BookMaker.eu's odds actually dropped from 45:1 to win the Super Bowl before the Tannehill to 75:1 after the injury and Cutler signing. Miami was a prime regression candidate before Tannehill went down and that hasn't changed with Cutler signed.
Where things could be impacted is if another notable QB goes down with injury. Cutler is off the market and there aren't exactly many QBs left on the market. Colin Kaepernick remains unsigned, although Cutler made more sense than Kaepernick from an on-the-field perspective because of Cutler's time with Gase. With Cutler off the market, the next team that deals with another injury will have fewer options. The signing of Cutler also leaves open the chance of Kaepernick joining the Ravens.
Fox Sports
Cutler retired to join the Fox broadcast both, but that will be delayed by at least a year. The good news is that Fox had planned to put Cutler in a three-man booth with play-by-play man Kevin Burkhardt and color commentator Charles Davis. Burkhardt's partner last year was John Lynch, now with the 49ers. So for at least a year, Fox will hold off on the plans to move to a three-person booth and stick with Burkhardt and Davis as the No. 2 team for the network.
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