In what should come as a surprise to no one, the Chicago Bears have made it clear that they are shopping veteran quarterback Jay Cutler. Per ESPN’s Jeff Darlington, the Bears have begun pursuing trades for the disenfranchised passer. While the 33-year old’s season was cut short in 2016, Chicago has a 12-23 record over the past three seasons with Cutler as a starter. Keep in mind that this is the same organization that gave the man a seven-year contract extension back in 2014 worth $126 million. It has been pointed out however, that only the first three years of this deal were guaranteed (Mike Florio, Pro Football Talk), so it seems that this is a contributing factor to the Windy City’s desire to unload Cutler.
.@stephenasmith on Jay Cutler … Thoughts? pic.twitter.com/99d2KPMdk0
— First Take (@FirstTake) February 22, 2017
There’s been a running joke over the years as to Jay Culter’s ability to throw more passes to the defense as opposed to his own receivers. While that’s not entirely accurate (208 touchdown passes to 146 interceptions for a 1.42 TD/INT ratio for his career), he has thrown at least 14 picks in every season in which he’s played at least 15 games (Jason La Canfora, CBS Sports). Here’s something else to consider; in an 11-year career, Cutler has only been to the playoffs only once, and that ended with a loss in the 2010 NFC championship game to Green Bay. This leads one to wonder why the Bears would even give an extension of that magnitude to a guy that up to that point hadn’t gotten the team back into the playoffs in four years. Change in coaching didn’t help matters either, as the Marc Trestman experiment ended in complete failure.
Oh, then there’s the true pink elephant in the room about Cutler not being a team leader that a quarterback should be. Former teammates have been very critical of Jay when it comes to galvanizing to guys. Whether it be Champ Bailey, Brandon Marshall, or more recently Martellus Bennett, you rarely hear a positive character reference when it comes to the quarterback’s ability to lead. Going back to the 2010 championship game, Culter was heavily criticized for not playing through a leg injury when his team needed him, and spent most of the second half on a stationary bike on the sideline. Seems like when a Super Bowl berth is on the line, you’d do all you can to be on the field to help your team.
Chicago Bears fans upon hearing Jay Cutler is being shopped around: pic.twitter.com/TScGEnaBKg
— USAF Vet (@7Asher) February 22, 2017
The way it stands, regardless whether Chicago can get an offer or not, Jay Cutler will no longer be in a Bears uniform when September rolls around. Given his track record, it’s hard to imagine any team that would want to invest in a veteran that, on the surface, just shows up for the paycheck. Think about it, former teammates have been on record to say that he’s not the kind of guy that they would fight for. Yes, he’s shown flashes of brilliance here and there, but it’s few and far in between. Maybe a change in location could revitalize his career. But in the long run things didn’t change when he demanded to be traded from Denver, and after nine years in the Windy City with nothing to show for it, it’s highly unlikely Jay Cutler’s attitude and play will change for the better.
