The Chicago Bears and their fans would, no doubt, gladly forego the last two games of the current NFL campaign and slink into the offseason with their tail between their legs, ready for heads to roll and changes to come, starting as soon as humanly possible with head coach Marc Trestman and quarterback Jay Cutler.
If the latest report is accurate though, moving Cutler, already expected to be difficult due to his large guaranteed salary - $25.5 million to be exact - may require more than the team simply agreeing to eat some of said salary.
Adam Schefter reported early Saturday morning that it might take draft compensation to move Cutler - and not just the expected draft compensation from the team trading for Cutler - draft compensation from the Bears.
That's right, Bears fans. The team is in such a poor position when it comes to moving Cutler that they may be forced to offer a draft pick along with his rights in order to sufficiently sweeten the deal enough for another team to actually be interested in acquiring the deposed signal-callers services.
"Several NFL executives believe that it's possible for Bears QB Jay Cutler to go from being benched to becoming a first-scenario, test-case trade," Schefter wrote in a Facebook post Saturday morning. "Never before has a team trading a player also had to give up drat-pick compensation to get rid of him. But some NFL executives believe that with any team having to absorb $25.5 million worth of guarantees in Cutler's contract, the Bears might have to package a decent draft pick to get another team to take him."
Apparently, NFL rules dictate that "nominal compensation" be passed between the teams in order for a trade to be deemed acceptable, which could mean that the Bears could receive a late-round pick in exchange for Cutler and a better pick.
Such a scenario has never before unfolded in the NFL's history, and while the move would hurt the franchise and upset fans, it could be worth it for the team to save the money they'd otherwise be spending on Cutler - money better used on free agents and extending their own players than on a quarterback the team no longer needs or believes in.
