Josh McCown has played well for the Chicago Bears as a replacement for the injured Jay Cutler, but Brandon Marshall says Cutler is still the team’s starting quarterback.
Marshall, who had six catches for 100 yards in the win over the Dallas Cowboys on Monday night, was a guest on ESPN’s postgame show. Host Suzy Kolber said that McCown’s 27-of-36, 348-yard, four-touchdown game will have people talking about a quarterback controversy in Chicago. Marshall stopped her before she could finish her thoughts.
“Chop it down right now!” Marshall interrupted.
“Kill it,” he said, referring to the controversy speculation.
“Jay’s our guy. Jay’s our guy,” Marshall repeated. “Jay, before the injury, he was playing his best ball ever. What we’re learning as players is it’s not about the individuals, it’s about us playing together.
“Yes, Josh is doing well. You have to give him credit — he’s playing lights out — one of the best quarterbacks playing right now. But Jay Cutler, he’s a special guy. There are some things he can do that other quarterbacks can’t. That’s the physical part. But I put Jay Cutler in any room in the NFL, and he’s the smartest guy in the room. So he brings a lot to the table.”
Cutler has always been Marshall’s guy going back to their days together in Denver, so it’s no surprise that he heavily backed his man. Cutler was having his best statistical season for the Bears across the board prior to being sidelined by an ankle injury. Even McCown said all along that he was just filling in for Cutler and not trying to take his starting job.
Though I say the job is Cutler’s when he’s back, it’s nice for the Bears to have the luxury of not having to rush Jay because McCown is playing well.
The other question with the Bears is what they plan to do with Cutler long term. Cutler will be a free agent after the season. Do they franchise tag him? Try to work out an extension? Or do they consider trading him? I think they can win a Super Bowl with him at quarterback given the weapons they’ve provided him on offense. What they need is to improve their horrific run defense.
