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Cutler deal gets Cowboys off the hook

You can't call the Dallas Cowboys' deal for Roy Williams the league's worst over the last season.

Not after watching what Jay Cutler has done in his first nine games for the Chicago Bears.

The Bears gave up two first-round picks, a third-rounder and an adequate quarterback (Kyle Orton) to get Cutler and a fifth-rounder from the Denver Broncos. He has rewarded them by being an inconsistent, turnover-prone quarterback frequently caught by cameras whining on the sideline after things go wrong. Orton has actually been more successful in Denver than Cutler has been in Chicago.

The Cowboys didn't give up nearly as much to get Williams, sending first-, third- and sixth-round picks to Detroit for the receiver and a seventh-rounder. If the Cowboys would have included Miles Austin, then the Williams deal would have been as lopsided as the Bears' trade for Cutler.

It's laughable now to think that there was local debate about whether the Cowboys should deal Tony Romo for Cutler. The knocks on both quarterbacks at the time were that they committed too many turnovers and had questionable leadership skills. Romo has made great strides in both areas, something that can't be said of Cutler.