As Joe posted earlier, SI.com’s Peter King is reporting that the Broncos are not trading disgruntled (and almost-Bucs) quarterback Jay Cutler — “for now,” King has a column this afternoon that documents how the Bucs are one of two teams that “make sense” for Cutler to find a new home.

The Bucs are veterans in the chase for Cutler, having pursued him the day before free-agency began, dangling their first-round pick plus something in a package for Cutler. They also have an offensive scheme under new coordinator Jeff Jagodzinski that resembles the system Mike Shanahan ran in Denver, and a defensive coordinator, Jim Bates, who’s the father of Cutler’s offensive coordinator last year in Denver, Jeremy Bates. Cutler and Jeremy Bates were close, and those close to Cutler believe the Broncos’ decision to not retain Bates is a part of his dissatisfaction.

As the clock ticks, Joe becomes less and less infatuated with Cutler. First, it will take a king’s ransom to secure Cutler, since the Bucs don’t have that many players to offer for Cutler, including no quarterback to speak of (can you imagine the outright guffaws in Denver if Mark Dominik invoked the name “Son of Bob?”).

And if Cutler gets his panties wadded up this bad, *after* he requested a trade, who knows if he would be remotely happy here? There are cheaper and less dangerous alternatives for the Bucs to obtain a quarterback.

[UPDATE: In a podcast today, BSPN’s “The Professor,” John Clayton, claims Cutler can be lured away from the Broncos for a first, second and a third round pick.]