Brian Urlacher was teammates with Jay Cutler for four years. That’s long enough for the former Chicago Bears linebacker to draw the conclusion that Cutler is really only elite in one category at the moment — salary.
Cutler, who signed a seven-year, $126 million contract this past offseason that included $54 million guaranteed, is certainly paid like one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL. But does his play justify his pay scale? Urlacher doesn’t seem to think so.
“Financially, he is one of the elite guys in the NFL … he just hasn’t produced like an elite quarterback,” the eight-time Pro Bowler said on 87.7 FM The Game, via Patrick Finley of The Chicago Sun-Times. “You look at the (Tom) Bradys, the (Peyton) Mannings, the (Aaron) Rodgers, the (Drew) Brees, those guys win every year, even with no one around them.
“Rodgers has no offensive line. He wins. Brady has no receivers. He wins.”
The Bears have arguably the best wide receiver duo in football in Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery. They also have an offensive genius for a head coach in Marc Trestman. Yet Chicago is 3-4 on the season, and a big part of the reason why is Cutler’s tendency to turn the ball over too much.
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“And you look at Jay. He’s got Brandon (Marshall), Alshon (Jeffery), Matt (Forte), this great offensive line, Martellus Bennett,and they can’t seem to put it together, for some reason,” Urlacher added. “I’m not sure if that’s his fault, but for some reason they just can’t figure it out.”
Urlacher, a known leader during his career, also said that Marshall’s postgame explosion “would never happen” when he was with the Bears.
“If you’re playing great and doing your job and everything, you’d probably say stuff like that,” he said. “But you better make damn sure you’re doing your job to the best of your ability if you’re gonna start talking to people like that.”
The Bears have a tough task ahead against a New England Patriots defense that has been known to give up a lot of yards but force timely turnovers. That could be bad news for Cutler.
