If John Fox keeps his job as the head coach of the Chicago Bears through the offseason, we are likely going to see Jay Cutler in a new uniform come 2017.
With speculation growing that the Bears are planning to move on from Cutler after the season, Mike Mulligan of the Chicago Tribune cites two NFL sources who claim Fox has told friends he is “done” with Cutler. That meshes with the latest from ESPN’s Adam Schefter, who says it is widely believe that the Bears will look trade Cutler and will release him if no one is interested.
Cutler is signed in Chicago through 2020, but all of his guaranteed money will have been paid out by the end of the season. That means the Bears will not have to take much of a cap hit even if they end up cutting him.
Fox clearly has no confidence in Cutler anymore, which is why the coach was likely planning to stick with Brian Hoyer as his starting quarterback even after Cutler was cleared to return from a thumb injury. Now that Hoyer is out for the year with a broken forearm, Fox really has no other option. Cutler alluded to that when he made these humorous comments about the situation earlier in the week.
Though his best years are clearly behind him, Cutler should be able to land a starting job somewhere on a short-term contract. He’ll be 34 at the start of next season.
