Report: Bears could end up keeping Jay Cutler in 2017

Jay Cutler may not play again this season because of a shoulder injury he is dealing with, but that does not mean we have seen the last of him in a Chicago Bears uniform.

Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that Cutler has a partially torn labrum in his throwing shoulder and there is “not a lot of optimism” he will play again in 2016, though the Bears have not ruled it out. What is perhaps more interesting is that Rapoport claims the team could be open to bringing Cutler back next season.

Cutler has no guaranteed money remaining on his seven-year, $126 million deal, so it would not cost the Bears anything beyond what they have already paid if they release him this offseason. However, there are not many — if any — home run prospects at the quarterback position in the upcoming NFL Draft, and Cutler’s base salary for 2017 is $12.5 million. He could earn another $2.5 million in bonuses, but even $15 million would be a bargain for a starting quarterback in today’s NFL.

It seems like Cutler is not Bears coach John Fox’s guy, as evidenced by the rumblings that Brian Hoyer was going to keep his starting job over a healthy Cutler if Hoyer did not get hurt. But what if Fox is not the Bears’ guy beyond this season? That would make reports like this one about Fox’s feelings on Cutler’s future irrelevant.