The Jay Cutler trade is complete, and the Bears gave up quite a haul to get him. A first-round pick this year and next, a third this year and quarterback Kyle Orton. (Chicago also got a fifth-round pick in the deal.)

That leaves the Lions with, essentially, three options at quarterback. One, they can play the season out with Daunte Culpepper as starter. Two and in my opinion most likely, they can draft Matt Stafford with the No. 1 overall pick (presumably to replace Culpepper at some point next season). Or three, they can take Jason Smith or Aaron Curry up top and trade for someone like Cleveland's Derek Anderson or Arizona's Matt Leinart.

None of those scenarios is as appealing as having Cutler, a Pro Bowler, under center, but by not going hard after the disgruntled vet the Lions decided to stick with their plan of building through the draft. Say you what will about recent history, but that's the right path for a team with so many holes to go down.

That said, I firmly believe the Lions will bemoan this trade twice a year for the next decade. Cutler is one of the two best young quarterbacks in the game, and his addition will make it difficult for Detroit to end its 15-year division championship drought anytime soon. Chicago still needs a receiver and its defense is aging, but throw in the best free-agent addition of the offseason in a new defensive line coach and the Bears should be playoff contenders in 2009.

If the Lions are going to trade for Jay Cutler, there's a good chance it'll happen this week.

The NFL's annual meetings run today through Wednesday in Dana Point, Calif., and most of the league's important decision-makers will be in attendance. Lions general manager Martin Mayhew and team president Tom Lewand are there, Broncos owner Pat Bowlen is expected as well, and no one would be surprised if Cutler's agent Bus Cook had urgent business matters to tend to on the west coast.

The Lions are one of a reported 10 teams that have contacted the Broncos about acquiring Cutler, a Pro Bowl quarterback whose incessant whining has made him persona non grata in Denver. Neither Mayhew nor head coach Jim Schwartz would acknowledge any interest in Cutler last week, but the Lions' most glaring need is at quarterback and chances don't come around every day to acquire a 25-year-old proven commodity.

“Nothing planned out there,” Mayhew said in a conference call when asked about his agenda for the meetings. “I'll just go and see where we are. CBA wise, that's important, obviously. Get an update on that. Hopefully meet the new union chief. But nothing planned, nothing major planned right now.”

ESPN reaffirmed Sunday morning that the Broncos would need a starting quarterback, a first-round pick and “maybe something else” to get any deal done. That limits the number of realistic suitors, but the Lions have enough draft-pick ammunition to be in the mix. (As a side note, I'm still not convinced Cutler's going anywhere, and if he does, Cleveland with Brady Quinn, Derek Anderson and possibly a renegotiated Shaun Rogers is the favorite. The Lions probably would need to involve a third team.)

Two years ago, Detroit talked trade with Kansas City for quarterback Trent Green at the league meetings. The same year, Philadelphia worked out a deal with Buffalo for linebacker Takeo Spikes. If the Broncos are serious about moving Cutler, history tells us something could happen soon.

Now that Jay Cutler's trade demands are official, it's time to examine the Lions' realistic hopes of trading for Denver's disgruntled quarterback. I still think the Broncos will end up keeping him. Young arms like that are too precious to pass on for a few draft picks. But if Cutler's dealt, here, in my mind, are the five most likely landing spots for him in 2010:

1. Cleveland: I'll put the Browns No. 1 only because they have the quarterbacks to satisfy Denver's demand. If reports are true that Eric Mangini isn't thrilled with either Brady Quinn or Derek Anderson, Denver can have its pick of young signal callers in return. The Browns also have two second-round choices (the extra came from the Kellen Winslow trade) and an early first to barter with, but no third- fifth- or seventh-round selection. Next year's picks could come into play.

2. Detroit: The Lions have the picks (two firsts, a second and two thirds), but not the quarterback to land Cutler. I can't see a three-way with Cleveland happening because the Browns might want Cutler themselves. Arizona's Matt Leinart is a possibility, but he'll take a draft pick (a third, probably) to land. The Lions don't have fourth- or fifth-round choices, and they've said they want to get younger (though the signing of Grady Jackson and trades for Anthony Henry and Julian Peterson fly in the face of that) and build through the draft. Moving too many choices means once again the organization is straying from its plan. One other note here: For those who say Matt Stafford and the No. 1 pick are the trump card, I have a hard time seeing Denver unload a young quarterback who's locked up fairly cheaply for a younger, more unproven quarterback it'd have to give $35 million guaranteed to.

3. Tampa Bay: The Bucs, like the Lions, tried to make the Matt Cassel-Jay Cutler three-way happen only to see Cassel end up in Kansas City for a second-round pick. Tampa needs a quarterback and is willing to pay. The Bucs pick one spot in front of the Lions in the mid-first and third rounds (Nos. 19 and 81), and have the cap room to give Cutler the new deal he desires.

4. San Francisco: At pick No. 10, the 49ers might have the most desirable choice in the first round. The Broncos wouldn't have to pay obscene money, would still get a premium talent and could probably land their quarterback of the future in Mark Sanchez (or possibly even Stafford; especially if the Lions don't go QB at No. 1). If the 49ers, who brought Kurt Warner in for a visit, are serious about upgrading at quarterback, they have a full compliment of draft picks to work with and a compensatory choice or two coming their way that might make their regular picks easier to part with.

5. New York Jets: New coach Rex Ryan isn't tied to any of the project quarterbacks currently on New York's roster, and that demanding organization is in win-now mode. That could be a dangerous combination if Cutler-to-the-highest-bidder materializes. It's unlikely Kellen Clemens would satisfy Denver's demand for a new quarterback, but the Broncos could sign a veteran like Jeff Garcia as a stopgap. The Jets also have a valuable first-round choice at No. 17 and an interesting history with Cutler's agent, Bus Cook, who just so happens to represent the quarterback who was at the center of a similar drama last year – Brett Favre.

Once a week during the offseason I'll try to answer your burning Lions questions.

Do the Lions really want to re-sign center Dominic Raiola?
It sure appears that way. I don't know that it's top priority in mid-February with free agency two weeks ago and draft preparation ongoing, but president Tom Lewand indicated at the team's town-hall meeting last month that extending Raiola's current contract is a priority. The full quote:

“I think (having about $35-million in cap space) enables us to do the kinds of things we're going to want to do from a personnel standpoint both in free agency and in the draft. Obviously with the No. 1 pick and two No. 1s, five in the top 80-plus, we've got to have that flexibility. But I also think it's important when you start talking about the guys that are currently on our roster, whether they're going to be free agents like the guys coming up this year like a Jason Hanson or guys who are in the last year of their contracts like a Dominic Raiola. Part of what we want to do as we're looking at building this the right way and for the long term is keeping those guys who are our own players, who've had success. Ideally we've drafted them and they've grown up within the system and they can kind of be the cornerstones of our team as opposed to trying to get enamored by the potential quick fixes that are out there.”

Raiola will be a free agent next February. I know he catches plenty of flack from fans and didn't help himself with his one-finger salute last year, but he was a Pro Bowl alternate two years ago and he did start 104 straight games before his November thumb injury. He's worth keeping around (though a poor 2009 or the drafting of someone like Cal's Alex Mack could change that).

What are the chances the Lions re-sign Leigh Bodden as a free agent?
I'd say slim to none are about right. You never want to rule anything out, but the sides are ready to part ways. Bodden wasn't happy with the way he was treated in Detroit and he'll find suitors on the open market. And the Lions, no doubt, have their sights set on other free agents.

The one thing I do find curious, general manager Martin Mayhew said Thursday that Bodden's release was “100 percent” cap related. If that's the case, then Lewand or someone should have to answer for the contract that put the Lions in the situation of cutting their best (albeit disgruntled) cornerback. Bodden signed an extension last summer after his trade from Cleveland that called for a whopping $8.6-million bonus to be due later this month. Sure he underperformed last year, but if Mayhew is to be believed the Lions would have kept Bodden of not for that lump-sum payment. And now, they have one more hole to fill.

I've written this already, but here's Mayhew's response when I asked him, in light of his comments, if he regretted how the Lions structured Bodden's contract: “There's a lot that went into that deal and what a lot of people don't know is Leigh wasn't really happy with his contract in Cleveland when he got here. And so we restructured it, and who knows what would have happened if we hadn't done it. So I'm happy that we did it, happy that we know kind of where we are with him and there's some good players out there who can play that position.”

What, if any, other changes to the front office are coming?
OK, so this is slimmed-down version of the three-part question I got from Myth. I think the Lions are pretty happy with the way things are structured now. They obviously don't believe the problems that led to last year's 0-16 season were systemic. Mayhew, Lewand, most of the scouting department and several assistant coaches all kept their jobs. A scout or two still could be let go after the draft, but I haven't had any indication that will happen.

I think Mayhew with Shack Harris as his sounding board is a nice 1-2 punch up top. As for Cedric Saunders, there were rumblings he was headed back to Tampa Bay to join the front office down there before the Lions extended his deal. He won't be an NFL general manager next year, but he's well thought of in Detroit (and elsewhere) and on track to be a player in personnel decisions for some organization in the near future.

Are the Lions interested in Derek Anderson?
You could insert Chris Simms or Byron Leftwich or a number of other free-agents for Anderson, but regardless my answer is the same: Ask me again after the combine. First order of business for the Lions is figuring out what they're going to do with their own quarterback situation. I don't believe anything's been decided there, though my best guess at this point remains they bring back Daunte Culpepper, release (or trade) Jon Kitna, don't re-sign Dan Orlovsky and draft a quarterback high in April's draft, with Culpepper playing the bridge to the future.