Jay Cutler says John Fox ‘doesn’t have a choice’ but to start him

Before Chicago Bears quarterback Brian Hoyer suffered a broken forearm in last week’s game, there were rumblings that he was going to be the team’s starter even when Jay Cutler was healthy. Cutler apparently heard that chatter, and he’s not even going to pretend he didn’t.

Cutler was asked after practice on Tuesday if he believes he still has the support of head coach John Fox. His response was quite blunt.

“He doesn’t have a choice, I guess, at this point,” Cutler said, via Rich Campbell of The Chicago Tribune. “Brian is out, so I’ve got to go. I’ve had good conversations with Foxy this week, last week, the week before. There’s never been any strain in our relationship. We’re both very open and honest, and we’re on the same page. We just want to win football games.”

Cutler added that he never got around to wondering if he would get his job back, as he was not yet cleared to practice. Now that he has been, he says his feelings were not hurt when Fox indicated Cutler may end up holding a clipboard for the rest of the season.

“It is what it is,” the veteran said. “Anytime you have a backup quarterback—and to Brian’s credit, he played well. I think as a team, we wish we would have won some more of those ball games. But Brian went in there and did a great job. My discussions with everybody that I have relationships with in here were positive, and whenever I was ready to go, I’d be ready to go. There was never any discussion regarding (whether I’d take back over) with me.”

If you believe the report we recently shared with you about Cutler’s plans for the future, you understand why the 2016 season could get even uglier for the Bears down the stretch.