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Jay Cutler Mulling Retirement

By Mike "Boomer" Burzawa

Oct 31, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler (6) leaves the field after the game against the Minnesota Vikings at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 31, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler (6) leaves the field after the game against the Minnesota Vikings at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jay Cutler could be mulling retirement rather than getting traded and resuming his career with a new team.

One of the big questions Chicago Bears fans have been asking since the middle of the 2016 season is where Jay Cutler will end up in 2017.  Has he played his last snap with the Bears?

Will he be back with the Bears in 2017?  Could he be reunited with Brandon Marshall and Matt Forte with the New York Jets?  Could he be headed to the left coast to help with the rebuild in San Francisco?  One possibility that hadn’t come up until the other day is retirement.  Reports indicate that the veteran signal caller could be considering retirement rather than starting over in 2017.

According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Cutler has confided in some that he might be ready to hang up the spikes in 2017:

"“He’s one of several veterans who are still considering whether they want to play, whether they want to not play, retire, walk away,” NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport explained on Wednesday’s edition of NFL Total Access. “A lot of things in play here for Jay Cutler.”"

Cutler has earned over $112 million in his 11 year career, so he is certainly not hurting for money.  Besides, his former reality star wife Kristin Cavallari is an aspiring businesswoman, dabbling in TV hosting, fashion lines and even writing a book.  Is it her time to shine while Cutler plays the Mr. Mom role to their three young children?

It’s no secret Kristin isn’t fond of Chicago and would rather be on one of the coasts, probably near Hollywood where she could pursue her career.  That gives a limited field of teams where the Bears could send Cutler.

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Even though his contract for 2017 is quite favorable, there is no guaranteed money left on it.  That means that Cutler has a little bit of leverage.  Let’s say the Bears trade Cutler to Cleveland.  Cutler could just fail to report and sit out rather than playing for the Browns.  That would cost the Bears the trade compensation.

Let’s not forget that Cutler has some rough mileage on him.  He’ll be 34 before the 2017 season starts.  He’s coming off labrum surgery following a shoulder injury that ended his 2016 season.  He hasn’t played a full season since 2009 battling various injuries including a few concussions.  Is it worth $15 million to him in 2017 to put his body through the beating for another season?  Does he want to uproot his wife and kids only to go to another team and start over again as he nears the twilight of his career?

I think most fans have universally come around to the idea that it’s best for the Bears and Cutler alike to split up and give everyone a fresh start.  Maybe his next fresh start is on his couch?

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