Bears Blitz

Jay Cutler Named as Bears’ 2015 Starting QB: Latest Details, Comments, Reaction

Published by Timothy Rapp on March 11, 2015
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears

After swirling rumors this offseason that the Chicago Bears could trade quarterback Jay Cutler, the team expressed its commitment to him Wednesday.

The team’s official Twitter account passed along statements from the team’s general manager Ryan Pace and head coach John Fox:

Jeff Dickerson of ESPN Chicago relayed another quote from Fox:

This is pretty big news on a number of fronts.

Wednesday’s announcement isn’t just a vote of confidence for Cutler, it also means the team is on the hook for a whole lot of money, as Cutler “is scheduled to make $15.5 million in 2015 with an additional $10 million guaranteed for injury in 2016 if he is on the roster as of Thursday at 4 p.m. ET,” according to Chris Mortensen of ESPN.

That was one reason, along with Cutler’s age (he’ll be 32 at the start of next season) and his disappointing 2014 season—he threw for 3,812 yards, 28 touchdowns and 18 interceptions while Chicago finished 5-11—that led many folks to believe that the Bears would move on from him this offseason.

As Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reported, however, there wasn’t any indication that the Bears had looked to move Cutler via a trade:

That could simply be teams protecting the Bears so any of their own future trade talks aren’t publicly exposed. But it’s also possible that the Bears took a look around free agency, the draft and potential trade partners and simply didn’t see a more viable alternative to Cutler.

Regardless, the Bears made it very clear Wednesday that they are going forward with Cutler as the starting quarterback. For better or worse, the future of the team remains closely tied with the performance of Cutler.