Mid-day talker: Thinking back on 2009 Vikings-Cutler trade rumors

Months before the Vikings lured Brett Favre to Minnesota … and weeks before Jay Cutler was ultimately traded from the Broncos to the Bears … there was a steady stream of reports and rumors that the Vikings — coming off a 10-6 playoff season but still with questions at quarterback — were interested in making a deal for the QB.

Did you forget about this? Never forget it. Because with each passing Cutler game, we still wonder about it.

How different would 2009 have been? How different would the five seasons and many QBs after that have been? Would it have been worth it, possibly, in some ways? Cutler in purple? Here's what was being written in the Star Tribune back in March of 2009:

The Denver Post reported the Vikings are among the teams that
have expressed interest in Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler, and
talks between the sides were believed to be ongoing Monday. It
remains unclear what the Vikings might be offering.
The news broke three days after the Vikings completed a trade
that sent a fourth-round draft pick to Houston for Sage Rosenfels.
He and Tarvaris Jackson are expected to compete for the starting
quarterback job, but neither is at the level of Cutler, a 2006
first-round pick who made his first Pro Bowl this past season. The
Vikings made inquiries about Cutler's availability at the NFL
scouting combine last month.
Vikings coach Brad Childress was elusive when asked at Rosenfels'
introductory news conference whether the team would add a top-tier
quarterback.
"Don't know, I'm not clairvoyant," Childress said.

Cutler is 44-37 with an 84.4 passer rating in his Bears career. He's the NFL leader in bad body language. How would his tenure have played out here? We'll never know, but it's a question we still, for some reason, think about.