The Broncos appeared to have solved the quarterback conundrum that has plagued them for over a decade when Jay Cutler went to the Pro Bowl this season. Now Cutler is just chum in the wake of the Broncos’ search for John Elway‘s successor following his trade to the Bears, joining other luminaries such as Brian Griese and Jake Plummer.

Elway told Woody Paige of the Denver Post that he is disappointed in the way things worked out.

“It’s a sad day for one of the elite franchises in football and all the Broncos fans, and I’m sad,” Elway said. “Too bad they couldn’t find a way to fix it. I had been hoping they could put it back together.”

You can imagine that this hurt Elway pretty deep. What type of player would try to force a trade? Oh, that’s right, Elway forced the Colts to trade him after being drafted first overall in 1983. The Broncos also took Tommy Maddox in the 1992 NFL Draft, and there were constant rumors that Elway would be traded because he constantly feuded with coach Dan Reeves.

That gave Elway a glimpse into the business end of the NFL.

Elway said Thursday that after he learned of the talks back then, “I was very hurt, so I can understand what Jay was feeling. It’s a trust issue. After some time, I had to get over it and move on. Although you don’t forget, you realize this is a business.

“Jay couldn’t get past it.”

Of course, it helps when the coach with whom you are feuding is fired (like Reeves was in 1992) and the team eventually brings in your old coordinator, Mike Shanahan (1995).

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