Football fans in the Type 1 diabetes community who were looking for someone to root for after Jay Cutler retired in February have found that player: Jay Cutler. The veteran quarterback with Type 1 diabetes has come out of retirement to sign a 1-year, $10 million deal with the Miami Dolphins, according to multiple media reports.
Cutler even brought his Twitter account of out of semi-retirement to verify the news:
Fins Up!
— Jay Cutler (@jaycutler6) August 6, 2017
Cutler arrived in Miami on Monday to take a physical and finalize the deal, according to a report by the Miami Herald. With months of rust on his right arm, he is not expected to play in the first pre-season game for the Dolphins this Thursday, but there is little doubt that he has been signed to be the team’s starting quarterback.
While Cutler has been a great example for the diabetes community of how athletes with Type 1 can be tough enough and healthy enough to play at the highest professional level of their sports, he also has struggled throughout his career to achieve sustained success, and his attitude has at times rubbed some teammates and coaches the wrong way.
Since the signing, however, several sports commentators see the Miami Dolphins as a great landing spot for Cutler after a turbulent end to his tenure with the Chicago Bears. The quarterback will be reunited with Adam Gase, the head coach for the Dolphins, who was Cutler’s offensive coordinator in 2015 with the Bears. That season is widely considered to be Cutler’s best year in the NFL, and Gase was credited for a large part of Cutler’s success, according to an ESPN report.
And as sports reporter Armando Salguero argues in the Herald report, Cutler is coming in with a clean slate with the Dolphins, a team which just lost its starting quarterback for the season right in the midst of training camp. While Cutler was seen as the face of the franchise at his last two stops in Chicago and Denver, he’s viewed as a “much-better-than-nothing” option as a quarterback who already has familiarity with the Dolphins’ offense.
A reduced-glare spotlight and a familiar offensive system might work wonders for the quarterback. We’ll soon find out, as the Dolphins play their first game of the season on September 10th.
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