Tom E. Curran • E-mail

Well, it certainly seems like the Denver Broncos have made chicken salad out of a chicken-bleep situation.

Sending Jay Cutler — a guy they no longer had any use or respect for — to the Bears for a first-round pick this year? And another one next year? And a third-round pick? And a quarterback named Kyle Orton who may not be a superstar but is more than serviceable?

Josh McDaniels may make it to Thanksgiving with his job intact after all.

Depending upon how Denver uses these picks, this deal could wind up as a mini-version of the Herschel Walker trade from 1989. That deal between the Cowboys and Vikings wound up being the springboard for the Dallas dynasty of the early 90s. This one — while not as large in volume (18 players moved in that deal) — has the potential to make as important an impact.

You just don’t see deals in which multiple first-rounders move with only one player and a low-round pick (a fifth-rounder this year) coming back. Never mind the fact that it’s two first-rounders AND a third AND a starter.

All for a quarterback who’s got a record of 17-20 in the NFL, has shown questionable maturity over the past month and has tender feelings that are easily ruffled. Did the Bears fully vet Cutler before making this deal? Could they have? Will they now be on the other end of a Bus Cook stickup as he looks for a new deal from his client who’s been through oh, so much?

That’s not Denver’s problem.

The Broncos are suddenly sitting somewhat pretty. They have the 12th- and 18th-overall picks in this month’s draft. It’s not beyond the pale to think they might be able to get either Mark Sanchez or Josh Freeman with one of those picks and let him understudy beneath Orton for a season. Or, if they feel sold on Orton by the time the draft comes, they can key in on their woebegone defense and get that spruced up.

Overall, they have picks Nos. 12, 18, 48, 79 and 84 on the first day. And that fifth-rounder they sent Chicago? They had a spare.

There’s not doubt a segment of Colorado is pretty peeved at their football team right now. They’ve watched enough Cutler to know that he seems very skilled. They’ve been told how strong his arm is, how he makes all the throws, that he’s tough, and on and on. It’s not going to be easy for them to just push that plate away and start spoonfeeding themselves Kyle Orton.

But the two kids have more in common than horrible haircuts. Quietly, Orton turned into a pretty good quarterback for the Bears last year, going 9-6 as the starter and throwing 18 touchdowns and 12 picks. And while a quarterback's record isn't as important as a starting pitcher's, Orton's 21-12 as a starter.

Perhaps more importantly, he had to compete to earn his job with Chicago. That gives a player a certain toughness. And he’s also got the motivating fact of the Bears sending not just him but those draft picks to Denver in exchange for Cutler. What could be sweeter for Orton than outplaying Cutler going forward? And with young Ryan Clady protecting his blindside and wideouts Eddie Royal and Brandon Marshall running routes for him, that’s not a stretch.

Meanwhile, the Bears have rolled the dice. GM Jerry Angelo, head coach Lovie Smith and team president Ted Phillips put their necks on the line for the mercurial Cutler in the same way the brass up in Buffalo did for Terrell Owens. Another season of mediocrity may have meant their jobs anyway, what good do future draft picks do them? Push the chips into the middle of the table, put your forehead in your palms and hope very, very hard. That’s what the Bears brass will be doing in 2009.

But it could work out just as well in Chicago. While it’s clearly not as talented a team as it was in the middle of the decade, the Bears’ problem has been the ability to put up points and move offensively. Cutler immediately ups their chances of doing that. The Bears might be pretty good.

Which, after observing Cutler’s act for the past month, is the only downside to be found in this whole deal. Sweet Baby Jay may have an enjoyable season after all. Is there any way the Bears can still get him to Detroit?

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