Jay Cutler the biggest question for next regime

The Chicago Bears were one of the three most disappointing teams in the NFL this season, and they rightfully decided to clean house by canning both GM Phil Emery and head coach Marc Trestman. While Trestman did an excellent job of running the show as a first-year head coach, leading journeyman quarterback Josh McCown to plenty of success, the team barely showed any fight this season. That said, he was given absolutely nothing to work with on the defensive side of the ball, as Phil Emery’s groceries on defense were lacking- to say the least. Aside from Kyle Fuller, the players he added to the secondary were thoroughly underwhelming, and Jay Cutler’s inability to run the offense spelled his fate.

With Trestman and Emery out the door today on “Black Monday”, Cutler has officially been put on notice, though that started to happen when the still Trestman/Emery-led Bears decided to bench him in favor of Jimmy Clausen, who has no sustained NFL success to speak of. There are Mike Shanahan-Cutler reunion rumors swirling, but at this point, Cutler’s future with the Bears is in a state of flux. In fact, his future depends on who the Bears hire as their next head coach and GM combo, since they might need somebody high on his abilities to keep him around.

Cutler has a reputation for being a coach-killer, and there are plenty of red flags on him at this stage of his career. At 31, Cutler’s bad habits (turnovers) aren’t going away, and if Trestman couldn’t coach him into a strong second season, then some might wonder if they have a lost cause on their hands. More importantly, a new GM calling the shots might not want to keep him around, and this goes for cap-minded and personnel-minded exec. His 2015 base salary is a completely guaranteed $15.5 million, which is money that, some might argue, could be better spent on defensive upgrades. Plus, a personnel-minded GM might want to pick their own QB from the draft, and this to-be-groomed signal-caller would definitely cost the Bears less.

That said, a change in the head coach and GM tandem could help Cutler out, and I wonder if he’s hoping for Shanahan to join him in Chicago. It’s possible that Cutler’s struggles and the team’s struggles were tied to coaching and management. Brandon Marshall was nicked up this season and Cutler averaged a career-low yards per reception in a more conservative offense, so there are some reasons to defend him. Heck, maybe having a better defense would have given the quarterback some help, but that’s a harder case to argue,

There’s no doubt that Cutler has amazing physical tools, and he did look good in 2013 in his first year with Trestman at the helm. Unfortunately, the tools are his only calling card at this point, especially since he’s coming off of a season in which he led the league in picks and padded most of his stats in garbage time. A new head coach could be enthralled by Cutler’s skills and think that he will be the one to fix the maligned passer, but maybe a new head coach is just as likely to see Cutler as a trap.

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Two things go against Jay Cutler going forward, and they can’t be fixed at all; his age and his contract. I mean, you can’t make Cutler younger, nor can you suddenly cut his pay; these are things the new regime will have to inherit if they decide they want to roll with Cutler. It’s not easy to start from scratch and pick up a new quarterback, but a new regime will have considerably more leeway to get a fresh start, especially since ownership would seemingly be much more willing to go ahead and give the green light. There are talented players in place on offense in Matt Forte, Martellus Bennett, Alshon Jeffery, and Marshall, so a rookie passer wouldn’t exactly find themselves in an impossible situation (unlike Derek Carr).

Of course, it isn’t easy to get rid of Cutler, because you can’t just cut him outright (his entire 2015 base salary is guaranteed). More importantly, it won’t be that easy to trade him, since, again, he’s old and expensive. A team that is a quarterback away from contending, such as the Buffalo Bills, wouldn’t be interested in trading for him since he’s too expensive, and a rebuilding team, such as the oft-suggested Tennessee Titans, might not want to trade for Cutler due to his age. Plus, a team like the Titans has such a high draft pick that they would probably draft a younger, cheaper QB than roll with Cutler, who has been a league-average quarterback for most of his career.

For prospective head coaching and GM candidates, Cutler is the enigma surrounding an otherwise enticing Bears gig, and I wonder if the Bears might be forced to go with an HC/GM pairing that is amicable to keeping Cutler, since it might be nearly impossible to find a trading partner for him. The fact that ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that the Bears might have to pair a pick with Cutler just to move his contract is troubling, but maybe all the Bears need is some patience with their mercurial quarterback. Sadly, it’s important for franchise quarterbacks to show week-to-week consistency, and Cutler can’t even display that on a year-to-year basis.

With adjectives like “inconsistent”, “flashes of brilliance”, “tools”, and “decision-making errors” used to describe Cutler, you’d think we’re talking about a young up-and-coming passer. But we’re not. We’re talking about a 31-year-old, and that might be the most telling. How far is his upside? Is it worth $15.5 million? Those are questions that a new regime would have to answer in the form of predictions, and their futures with the Bears could very well ride on what they do with Cutler.

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