Report: Ex-Broncos QB Jay Cutler Arrested in Tennessee

Former Denver Broncos first-round pick Jay Cutler was reportedly arrested on Thursday night.

Nov 6, 2008; Cleveland, Oh, USA; Denver Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler (6) on the field during the second quarter against the Cleveland Browns at Cleveland Brown Stadium. / Matthew Emmons-Imagn Images

It's been a rough week for Jay Cutler. The former Denver Broncos first-round pick was reportedly arrested in Tennessee on Thursday night.

ESPN's Courtney Cronin reported the details.

"Former NFL quarterback Jay Cutler was arrested in Tennessee on Thursday night after a traffic crash and faces four charges, a spokesperson for the Franklin Police Department told ESPN.

"Cutler, 41, was charged with driving under the influence, possession of a handgun while under the influence, failure to exercise due care to avoid a collision and implied consent," Cronin wrote.

After responding to a report of a rear-end traffic collision, police reportedly found two firearms in Cutler's vehicle, and he "had a strong odor of alcohol." One gun was loaded, per ESPN. Cutler also reportedly refused a field sobriety test.

Police booked Cutler in the Williamson County Jail around 7 p.m. and gave him a $5,000 bond. He was out of there and released by 10 p.m.

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It's an unfortunate stain on Cutler's post-NFL resume. The Vanderbilt product played three years in Denver after then-head coach Mike Shanahan made him the No. 11 overall pick in the 2006 NFL draft.

Cutler supplanted Jake Plummer as the Broncos' starting quarterback about halfway through his rookie season. Plummer was benched by Shanahan, despite having the Broncos in a commanding AFC West lead, and the team would eventually squander it with a rookie quarterback, missing the playoffs.

That marked the first of three straight playoff-less seasons for Shanahan, and following the 2008 campaign, the late Pat Bowlen fired his head coach. Josh McDaniels was hired to succeed Shanahan, and the young up-and-coming coach promptly traded Cutler away to the Chicago Bears, where he'd spend the majority of his career.

Cutler earned one Pro Bowl nod in 12 NFL seasons and it was his final year in Denver in 2008. Although he's viewed as one of the 100 greatest Bears of all time, he never was able to fully realize his immense potential once he was parted from Shanahan.

Cutler played one last NFL season in 2017 for the Miami Dolphins before hanging up his cleats. Don't feel too bad for him, though. From 2008-17, he earned north of $127 million playing for three NFL clubs.

Still, Broncos fans will always wonder what could have happened if Cutler had found a way to win the 2008 season finale over San Francisco, and the team made the playoffs. Shanahan wouldn't have been fired, and Cutler's outlook coming off that impressive Pro Bowl campaign would have been a Mile High.

We'll never know.

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