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Chicago Bears Must Move Jay Cutler In Offseason

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There may be light at the end of the tunnel for the Chicago Bears.

Their 2014 season has been a complete disaster. The Bears have underachieved in every aspect. Players are disappointed, fans are upset, and with just three games to go, the only question that remains is, “Whose heads are going to roll?” Well, the NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport gave fans a clue by unleashing the following tweets on Sunday morning:

The news about Mel Tucker isn’t surprising; it’s more of a sigh of relief. I’ve said for weeks now that Tucker was going to be the scapegoat for this disastrous season. The Bears’ defense has been embarrassed multiple times this season and after two horrible seasons defensively, it was obvious that there’s zero chance that Tucker would be retained.

The fact that the Bears are leaking out information about Tucker fortifies my position that Marc Trestman will not be fired after this season. There is zero information coming out of Halas Hall that Trestman is even on the hot seat, and it looks that he will absolutely return in 2015.

Jay Cutler is another story. Rappaport’s tweet about the organization having buyer’s remorse over the Cutler contract is a breath of fresh air. It has become apparent in the play-calling that Trestman has zero faith in Cutler to make the proper decisions down the field, and the coach continues to handcuff him by only allow the moody quarterback to dink-and-dunk the ball down the field.

Rappaport also mentioned that Cutler’s refusal to change plays at the line of scrimmage, even when the defense is clearly positioned to stuff the current play, has the coaching staff agitated. Cutler’s lack of audible-calling at the line of scrimmage has been pointed at as a major reason why the Bears’ run game has been nonexistent over the last two games.

The better question is, who in the front office is having buyer’s remorse over the Cutler contract? If it’s chairman George McCaskey or team president  Ted Phillips, one has to wonder if GM Phil Emery is going to be shown the door after putting his full support behind Cutler and giving Cutler his extension. Or, perhaps it’s Emery who has the buyer’s remorse and is going to try and move him at season’s end.

Cutler’s massive seven- year, $126 million-dollar isn’t as difficult to move as it appears on the surface. Cutler only has two more years guaranteed at $18 million per season, and the remaining $72 million is all non-guaranteed money that a team does not have to commit to at all. There could be some appeal for a team to bring in Cutler for two seasons while they try to develop a young quarterback.

If the team has lost faith in Cutler, the front office will absolutely look to move him in the offseason. Based on Cutler’s inconsistent performances, they may not find a taker, but if Chicago can find a new home for Cutler, it would put the organization in a completely new direction.

The reason for the fanbase to have some reserved excitement about this news is that, in the past, the organization was loyal to a fault. There was zero accountability at Halas Hall, if the Bears signed a player or brought in a coach, they would stick with that individual for many embattled years, even if their production was subpar. The news from Rappaport shows that the organization knows their current direction is failing and that sticking with it is an exercise in futility.

It will be very interesting to see how this offseason plays out in Chicago. Tucker will be gone, and who else will follow him out the door is anyone’s guess. One thing is clear, however: Cutler has worn out his welcome in Chicago, and the Bears will make every effort to put him in a new uniform in 2015. For many Bears fans, that is very good news.

Bill Zimmerman is a Chicago Bears writer for www.RantSports.Com. Follow him on Twitter, like him on Facebook, or add him to your network on Google.

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