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Titans free agent QB Simms set to visit Broncos
The Tennessee Titans still want to re-sign Chris Simms for the 2009, perhaps even to be their primary backup quarterback, but now have some competition for his services.
According to league sources, Simms is drawing interest from the Denver Broncos and Detroit Lions, and is expected to travel to Denver for a visit with the Broncos on Wednesday.
Simms signed with the Titans after being released by Tampa Bay at the end of preseason last year.
Simms came to the Titans and spent a good portion of the year regaining his strength after having to have his spleen removed in the aftermath an on-field injury in 2006 with the Buccaneers.
Now fully healthy, Simms is simply looking for a chance to prove himself again, either as a solid No. 2 quarterback or with a chance to compete for a starting role somewhere.
With the Titans, there appears to be the likelihood that Simms would at least get the chance for a training camp battle with former starter Vince Young for the second-string spot behind Kerry Collins.
The Broncos have Jay Cutler entrenched as their starter for now, but the relationship between him and new coach Josh McDaniels is off to a rocky start after Cutler’s name surfaced in talks regarding a trade for then-New England Patriots quarterback Matt Cassel.
Cassel was eventually dealt to Kansas City, but Cutler’s name continues to be bandied about in rumors with both the Lions and Buccaneers.
Barring a trade of Cutler, Detroit might offer Simms the quickest avenue to starting again. The new regime in Detroit certainly should be familiar with Simms, as former Titans defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz is now their head coach. The Lions quarterback situation is much more unsettled, though they have lost Dan Orlovsky and Jon Kitna in recent days. Daunte Culpepper is currently the Lions starter.
MORE LIONS: Speaking of the Titans' free agents and the Lions, the The Detroit Free Press reports that Tennessee tackle Daniel Loper will visit with the club this week.
Loper’s agent, Leonard Roth, told The City Paper on Monday that his client would likely take some visits this week.
As for cornerback/return man Chris Carr, his agent Buddy Baker said the visit to Detroit went well.
“I think the Lions have a great amount of interest. Obviously, he has a great deal of respect for Jim Schwartz,” Baker said.
Carr was on his way to Cleveland where had a visit on Tuesday and could still have more visits scheduled. Pittsburgh and Minnesota are believed to have some interest in him, though the Titans are still in the running as well.
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WHY WOULDN'T THE TITANS, AT LEAST, TRY TO TRADE FOR CUTLER?!?!I realize that we just signed Collins to a deal and we have Vince, too, but if the Broncos were even considering trading Cutler, we should move on it now. We should offer them Collins (a veteran QB that led his team to a 13-3 record, who could start right now for them), Young (a talented project that they could groom for the future), a 2009 third round pick, and a 2010 first round pick. They have a lot of holes to fill in Denver, and if they think they can parlay Cutler into overall team improvement, then they might consider it. If there is an opportunity to get a franchise QB, that we can count on for the next 10 years, then would should be aggressive. Cutler would be the perfect fit for the Titans. Already comfortable as a star here in Nashville, Cutler and his arm would be great in Heimerdinger's offense. He's not happy in Denver. Imagine how he'd feel to come home to Nashville, where there's a great running game and a great defense...and where he's appreciated! Titans fans and Nashvillians would go nuts! Denver may not be able to mend their relationship with Cutler. Vince Young is talented, but if he's ever going to revive his career, it will have to be somewhere else. Even if he improves and he wins back the starting job, Titans fans won't accept him after that sideline fiasco and the drama that followed. I was always a VY apologist until then. The people that sit around me at LP Field never really liked him and, since he lost his job, have vowed to boo him if he ever gets back in the game for us again (sad, but true). I don't think he'll ever flourish here, but a move to Denver might be just the change he needs to succeed. The Titans don't have near as many glaring needs as Denver. Adding Cutler to the lineup would make us a Super Bowl favorite, in my opinion. Then WE could sign Simms as a backup. I'd even agree to take some of VY's salary cap hit after the trade, just to make it happen. If that wasn't enough to get it done, I'd even throw Keith Bulluck or David Thornton for Wesley Woodyard into the deal (blasphemy, I know...Bulluck is my all-time favorite Titan, but he's on the downside of his career and he would instantly improve their horrendous defense...Woodyard is young, talented, with potential upside). I would think they'd have a real hard time passing that up.Let me state that I am not a Vandy homer. At the time, I thought we should draft Vince over Cutler, but I think Cutler has proven to be the real-deal, while playing with a bad team...VY has been inconsistant. We were so close last year (heck...we should've won it all), and Cutler would put us over the top, in my opinion...and it wouldn't be a temporary fix, like Collins. With all the talk about Cutler being traded, why haven't the Titans gotten involved? It would be a match made in heaven! Make them a deal they can't refuse!!!
I agree with all of it except trading Bulluck.
Denver says they never had any plans to trade Cutler.Sometimes Jay lets his mouth override his arm.
Yeah, I don't think Cutler is going anywhere. I still hope VY can get it done when Kerry is no longer the answer, but as TitanUp said he will have a hard time getting the haters to back him. Some out there would rather be stubborn mules and stick with their harsh criticism even if he succeeds than than to pull for him.
Trade VY to Detroit head on, we could trade and get their first pick. We can move and get the Boston College DT stud with the first pick. We could resign Simms to a 2 or 3 year deal. Pick another QB on the draft on a late round, they may be limited and scarse on QB this year but we can always find a Gem ...I wish i was a GM for 8 hrs, VY good bye!!
Cutler would make the titans superbowl favorites because cutler has guided so many teams to winning records over his career........no, wait
EO-I'd like to see VY try to win with that defense.
Can anybody really believe that VY is worth any kind of 1st round draft choice. I guarantee that Detroit and Schwartz know him to well to fall for any kind of trade like that.
Whoa!! Trade Keith Bullock! What have you been smokin'?There's no more loyal, hard working and underappreciated(except here)member of our team than Keith Bullock. I don't care if he's lost a half step or even a whole step, when it's his time to retire I want to see him in the center of LP Field gettin' the love from 68,000+ fans. Dude, you're way off base there. We need heroes on our team like Keith.However, on the VY vs. JC matter, why not trade them for each other straight up. They are the same age, 9 picks apart in the same draft and deserve, by virtue of their talent, a fresh team to showcase what they can do.I agree that VY will never again be the "wunderkind" that he was when he started here. Titans' fans don't take kindly to "kids" who don't show respect for our team, see"Pacman". But even though we have a two year deal with Kerry, and he's worth it after last year, wouldn't it be great to see a young gun like Jay, with local ties (lives here in the offseason)working side by side with Kerry and sharing the load.
In response to TitansKickAs...I had not been smokin' anything...at least not when I made that post. Let me make this clear...I DO NOT WANT TO TRADE KEITH BULLUCK. I wish we had a team full of Keith Bullucks. He is my favorite player on the team and probably my favorite Titan ever. He is our team leader and has always handled himself as a classy professional. He is still playing at a very high level, and I felt bad even mentioning him as trade bait. The point I was trying to make was that, if the Broncos are even considering trading Cutler at all, we should make a strong offer that they couldn't refuse. Franchise QB's are extremely hard to come by, and I think that Cutler is someone we could rely on for the next ten years. We can't expect Bulluck to continue playing at the same high level for near that long, and it is much easier to find a good young LB. That being said, I would only offer him up as a last resort to get the deal done. I'd think that if all else failed, if we added Bulluck to the deal it would be too hard to pass up for Denver. None of this will ever happen, so there's really no sense in debating it, I guess.To all the people saying, "What has Cutler done?" and using his team's record to say he isn't a good QB...have you watched Cutler play?!? He is a great NFL QB who has played on a team with a bad defense, no running game, and a mediocre offensive line. He has been very productive. There is no way Denver would consider trading VY for Cutler straight up. I was one of the people that thought we should draft Vince, not Cutler, but it has become obvious that I was wrong (so was Bud Adams).Vince is at his best when he's running around making plays with his feet. We already have a great running game with Chris Johnson. What we need is a good pocket passer. Collins is solid, but Cutler would be a huge upgrade at QB...one that we could count on for years to come. This is all wishful thinking anyway.
Now on the matter of Sims...Good for him. He and his "yes sir " attitude deserves another shot at a starting job. Much maligned before but appreciated now, Chris was a nice third string option, if needed. But with that in mind, doesn't a left-handed QB give the offensive minds who built a line for a rightie a problem? Now we can go out and get another rightie third stringer to develop for the league (see..Ingle Martin). How about Marques Tuiasopopo, it'd be fun just hearing M.Keith pronounce that a couple of times. Seriously though, Byron Leftwich (aka McNair wannabe) might bring back the good old days. Maybe he could wear #9.5!