Dolphins head coach Adam Gase said he does not have to name a starting quarterback yet between Jay Cutler and Matt Moore, but seems to be allowing us to read between the lines.
"You'll know when I release the depth chart," Gase told reporters Monday in Florida. "I don't have to make that announcement right now but (Cutler) didn't come out of retirement to stand on the sidelines. But we got a ways to go. Get him in here, give him a physical, see where he's at."
Moore is one of the longest-tenured Dolphins on the roster and, because of that, seems to have become one of the most popular players in the locker room. Gase was not worried about losing the team emotionally by importing a hand-picked veteran to replace the injured Ryan Tannehill. Perhaps in an effort to further sell the building on Cutler, Gase was adamant that it did not take much convincing to talk Cutler out of retirement.
"I talked to them," Gase said. "Our guys know. I was very up front with everything, so, they understand the reason why and what I was thinking and what I was feeling was the right thing for us. Our guys know we have one goal in mind and that's to win. We felt like that gave us the opportunity to have two really good quarterbacks on our team. We felt like we had two really good quarterbacks when Ryan was healthy."
Gase also told reporters no final decision has been made on if Tannehill will require knee surgery.
After Cutler passes his physical, Gase seems to be eyeing a process that will be far more taxing on the field than it will be off. He guessed Cutler was still quite familiar with Gase's offensive system from their time together in Chicago. He did plan on easing Cutler into practice, assuming "he wasn't in the backyard throwing 100 balls every day." Because of that, Cutler will not play in the team's preseason opener on Thursday against the Atlanta Falcons.
That does not mean Gase thinks Cutler has slipped.
"After watching (Cutler) last year, I saw the same stuff," Gase said. "He got injured and decided to move on -- they decided to move on from him. He stepped away for a minute, but I feel good about where he was at the last couple of years and feel good about how he fits with us."
At this point, Gase seems careful but confident. As NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported Monday on Inside Training Camp Live, Cutler was always the quarterback atop his wish list. Now, Gase just needs to get him ready.
