DENVER, April 2 (UPI) -- The Denver Broncos have traded unhappy quarterback Jay Cutler to the Chicago Bears for starting quarterback Kyle Orton and two first-round draft picks.
Cutler, 25, wanted out of Denver when he learned last month that the Broncos had tried to trade him before he was told that new coach Josh McDaniels wanted to acquire Matt Cassell from New England.
McDaniels was a Patriots' assistant last season.
Cutler passed for 25 touchdowns and 4,526 yards last season but his 18 interceptions resulted in an 86.0 quarterback rating.
Denver missed the playoffs by blowing a four-game lead in the AFC West Division with four games to play and lost a tiebreaker to San Diego for the division title in the final week of the 2008 season.
ESPN.com reported that to complete the trade, the Broncos had to give back a fifth-round pick in 2009 acquired from Seattle for wide receiver Keary Colbert.
Broncos owner Pat Bowlen said Tuesday he and McDaniels decided to try to trade Cutler after trying without success to get Cutler to return their calls for more than a week.
However, Cutler's agent, Bus Cook, told ESPN.com the Broncos first reached out to Cutler Tuesday.
"The perception that they've been burning the phone lines the last 10 days is wrong," Cook said. "They can spin it the way they want to spin it."
