Chicago Bears head coach John Fox announced on Monday that quarterback Jay Cutler has been cleared to return to practice and will be able to play in Week 8.
Cutler had been out since Week 2 with a thumb injury, and there was a growing sense that he was not going to get his starting job back from Brian Hoyer. However, Hoyer suffered a broken left forearm in Thursday night’s loss to the Green Bay Packers and is expected to be out at least six weeks.
The Bears have just one win on the season with a game upcoming against the NFC North-leading Minnesota Vikings.
Cutler suffered ligament damage and bruising in the thumb on his throwing hand, and it’s possible he will be playing at less than 100 percent health. If not for Hoyer getting hurt, the Bears probably would have had Cutler take his time recovering.
With the Bears clearly not heading for the playoffs and the report we heard about how Cutler sees his future with the team, it will be interesting to see how much effort the veteran puts forth.
