Jay Cutler is benched today not just because he’s been so bad lately. Preserving trade value is the primary reason Cutler was demoted in favor of Jimmy Clausen. If Clausen gets hurt, Chicago Bears Coach (at least for now) Marc Trestman will go to David Fales instead of back to Cutler.
The Chicago Bears have nothing left to play for. In fact, they’re better off losing, as tanking helps their NFL Draft position. Jay Cutler will not play again for the Bears this season.
Jay Cutler is worth nothing to the Bears, or anybody else, if he’s hurt, therefore he must be kept healthy. Now who would take on that massive, ugly contract? NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport a couple hours ago:
On the Tennessee Titans and Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler:
“The Tennessee Titans have already started doing the homework on Jay Cutler. They had interest in him last year; they did a bunch of homework then before he signed his huge $140 million deal that the Bears are now trying to get out of. I’m told that if Jay Cutler is traded from Chicago, Nashville would be his preferred location. He went to school at Vanderbilt so there is a good possibility that Jay Cutler is gone from Chicago. There is of course some other uncertainty with the Bears organization, including about Marc Trestman’s job. If he wants to save it, this is his best opportunity. He can prove that Cutler was the problem and not the coaching.”
Yep, the music city is the most likely destination for #CuttyDoesIt. He has a home there, he got married there, as Rapoport pointed out, he played his college ball there. The Titans are a total dumpster fire at the QB position, as Jake Locker ended up being a huge bust at the professional level. The decision to draft Locker so high didn’t work out well for anyone.
Tennessee has a QB situation that is so poor, that trading for Jay Cutler might not be the worst idea ever. He does possess the worst contract in Chicago sports history, but the NFL is filled with egos. There are coaches and coordinators who constantly believe “hey, I can be the guy to change him.”
(Sounds like a woman with very low self-esteem who never grew up and out of her bad boy complex actually)
Since we’re on the topic of Jay Cutler and the NFL Network, Steve Mariucci had a hot take this morning which pretty much sums up why Cutty failed in Chicago.
– “To me, it’s the intangible-type things. The quarterback is not just a passer – he’s your leader. He’s the voice of your organization. All eyes and ears are upon you. You have to handle that as a leader of men, and that’s where I shake my head a little bit sometimes with Jay Cutler as to how he leads…Let’s stand up and be that leader guy at press conferences and on the sideline and in the huddle so your team will follow you.” – Steve Mariucci on the struggles of Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler
Paul M. Banks owns, operates and writes The Sports Bank.net ,which is partners with Fox Sports. Read his feature stories in the Chicago Tribune RedEye edition. Listen to him on KOZN 1620 The Zone. Follow him on Twitter (@paulmbanks). His work has been featured in hundreds of media outlets including The Washington Post and ESPN 2