When the Denver Broncos traded up to draft Jay Cutler in 2006, the writing was on the wall for Jake Plummer, who had taken the Broncos deeper into the postseason than they had gone in any other year since John Elway was the team’s quarterback and led them to back-to-back Super Bowls.
At the time, much of the fan base was still all-in on Plummer as the team’s franchise quarterback but the decision by GM Ted Sundquist, head coach Mike Shanahan, and assistant head coach/quarterbacks coach Mike Heimerdinger to move up to get Cutler was one that would completely alter the course of the franchise for the next decade-plus.