Will Bengals Bite?

[*SHRacerX*]

(08-04-2017, 10:29 AM)ochocincos Wrote: Now report that Tannehill could need season-ending surgery though.
http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/20241193/ryan-tannehill-miami-dolphins-now-feared-need-surgery-knee

If that happens, it can mean the Dolphins are scrambling to get a starting-caliber QB. However, I think that that QB might be Cutler over McCarron, and here's why.
The Dolphins are paying Tannehill to be their franchise QB for the future, so anyone they bring in will be for a short-term rental.
Cutler already knows Gase's offense and is older, so there should be no expectation of Cutler sticking around beyond this year.
Cutler is also a FA, so no reason to trade away draft picks.
McCarron, while cheap, should be acquired by a team who foresees him being their QB of the future. Because of this, I think Cutler is more of a logical choice than McCarron.

All excellent points, but here is another angle:  If they give up a first rounder for McCarron, they would pay next to nothing extra for him this season as he is still under his rookie 5th rounder contract.  Should McCarron succeed, he would likely sign elsewhere for a pretty signficant value and possibly become a 3rd round compensatory pick the following season.  

Cutler has stated that he wants good, starting QB money if he is going to come out of retirement.  I can't imagine the Dolphins have an additional $15 million under the cap for this year.  I don't know, maybe they do...but I doubt it.

In the end, it is still trading a first rounder (likely one toward the bottom third of the round) for what would amount to a future third rounder, but if they don't have the money for a Cutler, what else can they do?  There simply aren't a lot of viable starting QBs out there on minimal deals.