Adam Gase is pleased with what he saw from Jay Cutler in the quarterback's first practice with the Miami Dolphins. The coach said Cutler looked the "same" as the last time he saw him on the football field.
"He said he felt good," Gase said Tuesday, via ESPN.com. "He is not going to sugarcoat anything with me. It was good that he felt right back in it."
The Dolphins signed Cutler to a one-year contract following Ryan Tannehill's knee injury last week. On Monday, Gase noted the veteran quarterback didn't unretire to stand on the sidelines.
Cutler's most efficient season came when Gase was the Chicago Bears' offensive coordinator in 2015.
"[He] remembers basically everything with the offense," Gase said. "Basically for him, it's just kind of getting that feel with the rush. It's one thing to throw routes on air and one-on-ones, but to get in there and be able to take some reps with the line in there and to be able to see everything develop and our players' body language and how they run routes, that's the biggest difference for him."
Cutler and Matt Moore split reps with the first-team offense on Tuesday.
Cutler ended 2016 on injured reserve and underwent shoulder surgery. The 34-year-old said Tuesday his shoulder feels fine after practice.
"My arm's fine," Cutler said. "It doesn't get sore. First of all, we just have to get all the strength and stuff back in it."
The Dolphins open the preseason Thursday against the Atlanta Falcons. Moore will run the first-team offense as Cutler, who won't play, rounds into form.
"I think a couple more days out here, I'll be back and be 100 [percent]," Cutler said. "The offense is gonna come. I think it's just sitting in the pocket, getting my feet underneath me, just the timing of the game, the rhythm. That kind of stuff is gonna take a little bit of time, but hopefully it comes back pretty quickly.
"... I told Adam thanks for bringing me in. It's fun to be back out."
