Report: Bears have considered benching Jay Cutler

The Chicago Bears may be growing tired of Jay Cutler and his inability to protect the football.

According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Bears have been feeling serious “buyer’s remorse” since signing Cutler to a seven-year contract extension last winter. In fact, Bears coach Marc Trestman reportedly considered benching Cutler during Chicago’s 21-13 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers a few weeks ago.

Cutler is the definition of a gunslinger. He has a cannon for an arm but makes countless ill-advised decisions. Rapoport adds that one big issue the Bears have with Cutler is that he rarely every checks out of bad plays, which has a negative effect on the run game.

Trestman’s offense is fast-paced and requires a lot of thinking from the quarterback. Cutler’s inability to adjust on the fly is one of the reasons the Bears have struggled. If Chicago can trade the 31-year-old this offseason, they would save $12.5 million against the salary cap in 2015.