Whatever the Bears are doing isn't working. It's no surprise that at 5-8 people are questioning their long-term plans. Including the future of quarterback Jay Cutler.
According to NFL Network, Chicago has "buyer's remorse" on Cutler, who signed a massive contract before this season, and considered benching him against the Buccaneers two weeks ago.
These are separate issues, though mostly intertwined.
Cutler's contract is bad. Was bad. Will be bad. The Bears gave the 31-year-old Cutler a seven-year, $126 million contract in January 2014 that included $54 million in guarantees.
As soon as Cutler signed the deal it looked like an aggressive, all-in play on a quarterback who consistently makes horrible turnovers and hasn't been able to put the Bears over the top. Cutler has a cannon arm but buying into the potential of someone's talent after their prime is an expensive gamble.
From the benching perspective, well, this is less realistic. He laid an egg against Tampa Bay, but the idea of going to Jimmy Clausen in the hopes of turning things around is comical at best.
Marc Trestman answered questions about benching Cutler and answered the way you would expect.
"Jay is our quarterback," Trestman said. "If he's available to play, he's going to play. Jimmy is continuing to work in the offense, and he practices. We certainly like having him on our football team, but as we get ready for New Orleans next week, Jay will get the reps and he'll be playing."
There's nothing the Bears can do, really. They can explore a trade in the offseason but, uh, good luck with that.
Cutler is their quarterback for the future, for better or for worse.
