Vikings Coaches Nixed Cutler Deal?

A somewhat stunning development in the on-going Jay Cutler melodrama:  According to Yahoo! Sports, the Vikings not only contacted the Broncos about Cutler when three-way trade scenarios involving Matt Cassel were being discussed, but were in fact the first team to do so – even before the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who reportedly had a chance at a deal before Cassel was sent to Kansas City.  League sources say the Vikings proposed shipping draft picks to Denver for Cutler, with Denver turning those picks around and sending them to New England for Cassel.  But, claim the sources, the trade fell apart largely because “some elements” within the Vikings coaching staff were not sold on Cutler.

And you can be absolutely 100% certain that “some elements” means Brad Childress.  Trust me – if Chilly had wanted Cutler, that trade would’ve happened, regardless of the opinions of anyone else on that staff.  Of course, it’s always been believed that Chilly liked Cutler coming out of college and wanted to trade up to try and draft him.  If that was indeed the case, then Childress must’ve changed his mind on Cutler somewhere in the intervening years.  My guess is that, if Chilly has soured on Cutler, it’s because of character issues more than talent issues.  What all this adds up to is that the Vikings most likely are no longer in the running for Cutler at all, unless they could get him incredibly cheaply.  Or unless Zygi Wilf, who has been known to override Childress in the past, decided he wanted Cutler and didn’t care what his coach thought.