I advocated a trade of Jay Cutler by the Chicago Bears last week. Now, it appears as if the Bears themselves are getting ready to move on from Cutler.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Network said Sunday that Chicago is having "buyer's remorse" after handing Cutler an immense contract extension (seven years for over $126 million with an average annual value of $18 million) and watching the Bears spiral downward in a lost 5-8 season. In fact, things have gotten so bad that Cutler was almost benched in Week 12 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
"Jay Cutler simply has not played well enough, and it's not just in the passing game," Rapoport said. "His refusal to check out of bad run plays has absolutely killed this team, and there is a serious case of frustration inside the organization just about the way that Jay Cutler has played.
"In fact, I'm told they considered benching him against Tampa Bay when they were shut out but decided against it mainly because Jimmy Clausen is their backup and he is not good enough."
The Bears could save a lot of money by trading Cutler in the off-season - $12.5 million to be exact. We know the Washington Redskins were linked to Cutler on his way out from Denver. But after sacrificing so many high draft picks for Robert Griffin III, the Skins may be unwilling to go down that rabbit hole again. The Houston Texans and Tennessee Titans have both been linked to Cleveland Browns quarterback Brian Hoyer, should he hit the open market in free agency this off-season. Perhaps one of them would be willing to deal for Cutler as they try to stabilize their quarterback situations.
Regardless of who might be interested, it's clear that Cutler is on thin ice in Chicago. He's thrown 90 interceptions in 80 career games with the Bears. The team has finished above .500 just twice since they acquired him in 2009. A split might be in everyone's best interest at this point.
