Jay Cutler Trade Rumors: Bears Might Have to Give Up Pick to Trade Cutler

Dec 15, 2014; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler (6) passes during the second half against the New Orleans Saints at Soldier Field. New Orleans won 31-15. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports

With this week’s benching, even Jay Cutler admits that it’s crossed his mind that his days as a Chicago Bear are finished. We’ve gone to celebrating a monster contract extension and high hopes for a Super Bowl run to following the countless Jay Cutler Trade Rumors that are bound to surface in the days and weeks to come. ESPN’s Adam Schefter believes that trading Cutler is possible, but with a big caveat:

"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. 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. NFL rules dictate that nominal compensation must be exchanged between teams, but it could mean another team surrendering a late-round pick to Chicago for Cutler and a better pick. Such a scenario could enrage Bears fans, but to get a team to take on so much guaranteed money that could be used on valuable free agents and contract extensions, the Bears just might have to compensate a team with more than Cutler to do it."

This notion is absolutely preposterous. I can’t see any way that whoever is running the Chicago Bears next season – and I hope it’s not Phil Emery – would consider trading draft picks to get rid of Cutler.

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I think they’d sooner sit him on the bench as a backup if it came to it. Everyone says the McCaskeys are cheap, but I can’t imagine they would be so desperate to rid themselves of his contract that they would get rid of valuable draft picks in order to move him.

The Bears are a mess right now with many holes to fill. There is no way they would package the very building blocks they need in order to undo Phil Emery’s mistake that started the 2014 offseason.

With that said, I think the Bears need to show prospective GM and head coaching candidates that Cutler is not a prerequisite to take the job. It should be up to the new guys in charge what to do with Cutler, but if Schefter’s scenario is true, it looks like we could be stuck with Cutler for at least another year.

What do you think? Would you trade Cutler at all costs, even if it meant throwing in a draft pick? Do you think Cutler is on the 2015 Chicago Bears roster?

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