Jay Cutler decided to put a hold on the makeup and spotlight thrusted upon him by his newfound broadcasting career, and decided to pull out the sunglasses, fly to Miami and take a leap back into NFL football. Cutler signed a $10 million contract with $3 million more in incentives to play for the Miami Dolphins who recently lost their starting quarterback, Ryan Tannehill, to an injured knee at training camp. Tannehill’s future this season remains uncertain, but reports state that he could possibly sit out for the rest of the season. Dolphins head coach Adam Gase worked with and trained Jay Cutler back in 2015, when he played for the Chicago Bears, and Cutler had one of the best seasons of his career at that time. Because Cutler and Gase worked so well together, Gase felt that Cutler could save what would otherwise be a ravaged season for the Dolphins.

Cutler and Tannehill are generally similar players in that they both have the skills necessary to succeed, but neither have the consistency to do so on a regular basis. Both quarterbacks excel when they are able to play it safe and rely on their backfield. Cutler had Matt Forte, the current running back for the NY Jets, and now has a top-five 2017 back in Jay Ajayi. It seems that Cutler has been placed in the perfect position, with a perfect team around him.

Cutler will look to one of the most talented receiving cores the NFL has to offer in Jarvis Landry, DeVante Parker, Kenny Stills and Julius Thomas, and looks to let the ball fly. Although Cutler has all the players he needs to succeed, I do not think he will. The Vanderbilt product has played in a similar caliber of offense in Chicago when he had Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery to throw to, and Matt Forte to hand the ball off to. Yet, even with an offense of this strength, Cutler still almost had as many interceptions as he did touchdowns. Additionally, although Cutler may know Gase’s system well and could thrive in it, he will not fully be able to develop the bond that he needs with his receivers to succeed because that is something that takes time; at least the entire span of the pre-season training would have sufficed.

Because Cutler is just starting practice after missing most of pre-season training and workouts, he will have to spend time learning the playbook and getting a feel for his wideouts. With a month left before the start of the regular season, Cutler has little time to get back into shape and live up to the needs of the playoff team he is now a part of.

Don’t expect much from the 34-year old man who always looks bored.