The Miami Dolphins made their quarterback choice, and it was the obvious one. Coach Adam Gase persuaded Jay Cutler to end his short-lived retirement and leave the Fox broadcast booth to head to South Florida and take over for the injured Ryan Tannehill. Now the issue becomes whether Gase can get the best out of Cutler again, as was the case in 2015 when Gase was the Chicago Bears offensive coordinator.

The other issue that matters, of course, is that Cutler’s one-year, $10 million deal leaves Colin Kaepernick still unemployed, with options dwindling and the regular season nearing. It raises the possibility: Are the Baltimore Ravens Kaepernick’s last, best hope to be signed by an NFL team before the season begins?

It’s not particularly surprising that Cutler ended his retirement and put broadcasting on hold to play for Gase. Cutler’s retirement came in part, it always seemed, because of the league’s lack of interest in him. The New York Jets appeared somewhat interested at one point. No other team seemed to pursue him very intently, and Cutler said his farewell to the game at age 34. Now he’s back with a deal that includes an additional $3 million in potential incentives.

It’s also not particularly surprising that Gase wanted Cutler over Kaepernick. The NFL is all about familiarity – when coaches relocate, they reunite the band by bringing in fellow coaches and players they know. Gase made things work relatively well two years ago when Cutler threw for 3,659 yards and 21 touchdowns, had a palatable-for-him 11 interceptions and posted a respectable passer rating of 92.3.

Now Gase, coming off a playoff season in Miami as a rookie NFL head coach, turns to a known-to-him commodity to attempt to keep the Dolphins’ season from unraveling without Tannehill.

Gase is as good as it gets as an offensive coach. He made things work with Peyton Manning in Denver, with Cutler in Chicago and with Tannehill in Miami. The Dolphins have good players around Cutler. Tailback Jay Ajayi is productive. Resources have been poured into the offensive line. The receiving corps is strong with Jarvis Landry, DeVante Parker and Kenny Stills. As long as Cutler’s surgically repaired shoulder is sound and he does not revert to his pre-Gase (and post-Gase) recklessness, Gase should find a way to keep the Dolphins in the mix.

The Dolphins reportedly considered Kaepernick, but they passed him over, just as every other NFL team has done since Kaepernick parted ways with the San Francisco 49ers. For the Dolphins, though, any political considerations ran deeper than Kaepernick’s national anthem protest last season. Kaepernick also was booed by fans at a game in Miami last season after making comments praising some of the policies of late Cuban leader Fidel Castro.

“The internet might break when Dolphins sign Jay Cutler over Kaep even tho it’s the obvious, smartest choice,” former NFL quarterback Danny Kanell wrote Sunday on Twitter after news of the Cutler deal broke.

There is plenty of reason to wonder if Kaepernick will have a job in the NFL by Opening Day. The Ravens have considered signing him with their starter, Joe Flacco, sidelined by a back injury. Coach John Harbaugh said Saturday after his team finished a practice at the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis that he wasn’t sure yet when Flacco will resume practicing.

“I don’t really know the time frame on it,” Harbaugh said. “We haven’t talked about that … We just don’t know the time frame. They haven’t give us a time frame yet. He’s getting better every single day. Obviously we have a plan for him football-wise when he gets back. But we haven’t been told when yet.”

Ravens players had Sunday off. They’re scheduled to practice Monday and Tuesday at their facility in Owings Mills, Maryland, before conducting a walk-through Wednesday and playing their preseason opener Thursday night against Washington at M&T Bank Stadium.

Veteran tight end Benjamin Watson was among the team’s players consulted by Ravens officials about the possibility of signing Kaepernick. Watson said Saturday that, in his view, off-field considerations shouldn’t be a factor.

“I think it should be a decision like any player: Can this guy help your football team?” Watson said. “He’s obviously a player that has tremendous skill. He’s good enough to play in this league, obviously, because we’ve seen him play in this league. We’ve seen him play very well in this league. So his ability to play in this league is not in question.

“Obviously it’s the other thing that’s always talked about as to whether a team will bring him in or not. And I guess our organization made the decision at least for now not to bring him in. I don’t know if that could change. It could not change. I don’t know. That’s kind of above what I do. But the organization did ask a few players. I was one of them. (It was) just mainly what we thought about him coming into the locker room.”

That wouldn’t be an issue, according to Watson.

It probably would not have made sense for the Ravens to have signed Kaepernick before the weekend, with their trip to the Naval Academy pending.

Will it make sense now?

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