Sports Radio Interviews

If This Doesn’t Work Out He’s A Goner

You very rarely see big trades in the NFL.  Typically when a huge name like Jay Cutler or Randy Moss gets traded it’s either because they’ve become a problem in the locker room or they can’t agree on a contract.  And very rarely are the trades even.  The Cowboys made out like bandits in the Herschel Walker trade and the Patriots stole Randy Moss from the Raiders. Also, most of the trades involve draft picks and an average player, not two franchise-level players.  The only trade I can think of off the top of my head that was beneficial to both teams and involved superstars was Champ Bailey for Clinton Portis.  Although, I do think the Broncos got the better end of the deal.

Bears GM Jerry Angelo ponied up at the bar for Jay Cutler.  Two first round picks, a third round pick, and Kyle Orton is a lot to give up, but given the Bears awful history at quarterback and the chance to land a player of Cutler’s caliber that is so young and has such a favorable contract, it was a no brainer.  That being said, if this move fails, Angelo and most likely Lovie Smith will be given their walking papers.

Jerry Angelo joined WSCR in Chicago  on Friday to discuss the trade.

How did the trade talk begin and continue?

“It began a few weeks ago when we thought there really might be something in the works.  We really never thought it would get to that point, you rarely if ever see a situation quite like this, but we talked internally and felt like if an opportunity did present itself since it was a new regime and when you have new regimes there’s going to be change….and we felt like this might be a possibility.  So we had some good dialogue, felt like this was the right thing to do, and we were very motivated.  Then when the opportunity presented itself we had played it enough and we were able to act on it rather than react to it.”

Was there any indication that Cutler will want more contract security soon:

“No there was none of that talk.  And really in part we had to deal right directly through Denver and we couldn’t do anything but work through Denver.  Our talks never got any more than what it was going to take to facilitate this trade.”

Angelo on the talk of Jay Cutler being a jerk, the Bears fans, and the full interview after the jump.

On the Bears not believing this talk that Cutler is a jerk:

“No, we did quite a bit of homework on Jay starting back on his days at Vanderbilt.  You know he was elected captain three years in a row which in itself is unique and probably unprecedented when he was in college.  So that gives you a snapshot of what his teammates thought of him, obviously his coaches.  Everybody has their moments, nobody is perfect.  He is high strung, he is emotional…that swagger that he has makes him who he is.”

Is there any sense that the fans have been heard by you, did that play any part of this:

“Very much so, very much so.  I’m understanding of it, I knew that coming in, but until you live it, it’s hard to really understand it.  Was that the driving force to this? No, it was part of it though.  We are in the business of entertainment.  That’s important to me.  I know it’s important to our ownership and we want to make sure we put the best product out there each and every Sunday.”

Listen to Jerry Angelo on WSCR in Chicago with Boers and Bernstein

Tags: Bears GM, Chicago Bears, Jay Cutler, Jay Cutler trade, Jerry Angelo