Chicago Bears Should Commit To Jay Cutler Beyond 2016

Jay Cutler had his best season as a pro in 2015. It wasn’t his gaudiest statistics; he has thrown for more yards and more touchdowns in other seasons. But Cutler has never taken better care of the football and he’s never made better decisions in the pocket. In short, in 2015 we saw Jay Cutler mature.

More from Bear Goggles On

That was probably in large part due to new offensive coordinator Adam Gase, who has since departed to become head coach of the Miami Dolphins. But it’s also partially due to Dowell Loggains, Cutler’s quarterback coach last season who has been promoted to offensive coordinator and will continue his work with Cutler in 2016.

While it’s important to give credit to both Gase and Loggains, the most credit needs to be given to Cutler, which I have barely seen anywhere in print. Gase and Loggains receive all the praise and while they clearly helped Cutler along, it was Cutler who listened. It was Cutler that implemented that coaching and advice into his game and it was Cutler who performed. Cutler has had so many offensive coordinators during his time in Chicago it’ll make your head spin. While Cutler will be dealing with another change in 2016, he will at least have the same system and a familiar face in Loggains to help transition him.

Live Feed

Tennessee victory cigars against Alabama were supplied by unlikely source /

FanSided

5 messiest divorces in Broncos team historyPredominantly Orange

The biggest trade mistake in Denver Broncos historyPredominantly Orange

4 Denver Broncos among top 20 highest-paid quarterbacks everPredominantly Orange

Jay Cutler on split from Kristin Cavallari: ‘Dating is hard as hell’FanSided

Jay Cutler claims he lost an Uber Eats deal over COVID mask mandate viewsFanSided

While 2015 was a disappointing season for the Bears, stumbling to a 6-10 finish, for me, it was a season of optimism and showed me that the Bears have a long-term plan in place that Bears fans should be confident in. When you look at the Bears season, there’s one particular issue that kept them down all season and no matter how well John Fox coached and no matter how well Cutler played, there was one thing they couldn’t overcome- their lack of talent.

Yes the rookies played well. Yes, Ryan Pace found some nice additions in Jarvis Jenkins and Tracy Porter as well as some others. But from top the bottom, the roster simply isn’t in a position to compete for a playoff spot, and more importantly contend for a Super Bowl.

Sep 20, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler (6) calls a play during the first half against the Arizona Cardinals at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports /

That’s what brings me to Cutler. I’ll be the first to admit that after the 2014 season, I wanted to show Cutler the door and I sat there and contemplated if it was worth it for Pace to eat the large chunk of guaranteed money just to get Cutler off the roster. But I was thoroughly impressed with Cutler this past season enough to say he may not be a star, but he certainly isn’t the problem.

The Bears need to add as much talent and depth to as many positions as possible. The Bears draft picks right now are precious. Their QB situation may not be outstanding but it certainly isn’t pressing. For the Bears to go out and spend money on a free agent QB like Brock Osweiler or to spend a second or third, or even fourth round draft choice on a QB isn’t wise.

As recently as December, I thought it was smart for the Bears to invest a third or fourth round pick on a potential QB of the future that could take over for Cutler in 2017 or 2018. But what’s the rush? If Cutler can play like he did in 2015, he’s only going to be 33 years of age next season, that means he should have at least three more years of being able to produce at that level. Being that he has four years left on his deal, and seeing how QB salaries are sky-rocketing, as bad as the Cutler deal may have looked in 2014, it’s not the worst contract in the world to keep on the roster right now.

The Bears have so many holes and need so many players to build up this roster, spending any money or draft choices on a QB at this point is simply too soon. The Bears like David Fales and haven’t given him much of an opportunity. It’s time to make Fales the permanent QB2 in 2016 and give him the reigns if Cutler is injured. He may fail, he may succeed, but it’s time to find out. At this point, teams rarely keep three QBs on the active rosters any more, so I don’t expect the Bears to do so in 2016. If they want to keep Matt Blanchard on the practice squad for another season, I wouldn’t be opposed to that. If they want to bring in another young rookie QB (an undrafted free agent) and see if he’s worthy of a practice squad position, I’m all for open competition.

What I am not up for is drafting Jay Cutler’s replacement this season. He’s too young and potentially has too many good seasons left in his arm. Finding good quarterbacks at the NFL level is very difficult, there aren’t really more than about 20 that you can even consider good enough to start. Cutler is one of those precious few. While he may not be elite or even a top ten quarterback, he certainly is good enough to start, and if the Kansas City Chiefs can be one of the final eight teams remaining with Alex Smith who never throws the ball more than five yards down the field, than I’m confident that if Pace and Fox can build the right team around Cutler, he will be more than capable of winning games in January.

Aug 13, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bears head coach John Fox (left) talks with general manager Ryan Pace (right) prior to a preseason NFL football game against the Miami Dolphins at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports /

Pace spoke highly of Cutler after the season and he made it clear that he was going to be the team’s quarterback in 2016, but there’s no reason he shouldn’t be the QB of the Bears in 2017 and beyond. Pace should focus on building up a championship team around him, rather than throw a dart at the wall and hope to land the next great QB. The Bears have far too many other issues facing the 2016 roster to start worrying about 2017. As a Bears fan, I never thought I would say this, but I’m ready to commit to Jay Cutler for the next several years, let’s hope the organization is as well.

Home/Chicago Bears News