Last season, the Chicago Bears received excellent quarterback play from both Jay Cutler and Josh McCown, and they narrowly missed the playoffs thanks to some abhorrent play on the defensive side of the ball. The Bears made big upgrades to the defensive line, but they did nothing to help the secondary, as their only positive addition was the decision to draft Virginia Tech stud Kyle Fuller. Although the defense is the team’s biggest weakness, of graver concern is the future of Cutler, as the man who was once the clear franchise quarterback could even be on the trading block.
The NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reports that the Bears have “serious buyer’s remorse” about the seven-year, $126 million extension that they handed to Cutler last season. We always knew there was some risk involved when giving a whopping extension to an inconsistent quarterback, but Cutler seemed to be in a great spot with Marc Trestman, Brandon Marshall, Alshon Jeffery, Matt Forte, and Martellus Bennett. Instead, he took major steps back, and it looks like Trestman has lost his mojo in a season marred by some awful, overly conservative play-calling.
Rapoport notes that the Bears would save $12.5 million against the cap by dealing Cutler, but it would be hard to see them getting fair value in return, as his contract is too much for most teams to take on. I would think that teams would rather draft a quarterback of their choosing than pay a 31-year-old QB a huge sum of money over the next several seasons. Ultimately, I think the Bears will decide to give Trestman, Cutler, and GM Phil Emery another year, but the sad thing is that Cutler’s position is the safest of the three.
More from NFL Spin Zone
- Dallas Cowboys made the trade everyone else should have made
- Pittsburgh Steelers rookie sleeper everyone should be talking about
- Anthony Richardson putting jaw-dropping talent on display immediately
- Denver Broncos’ stud wide receiver might be out for a while
- Washington Commanders: Three takeaways from win over Ravens