The Chicago Bears are making major changes and with a new head coach and general manager Ryan Pace coming in, the franchise may look at a trade with Jay Cutler and teams like the Washington Redskins, Cleveland Browns, Tennessee Titans, NY Jets and Houston Texans could be interested and this comes as Rex Ryan, Adam Gase, Dan Quinn, Mike Shanahan and Doug Marrone are potential coach options for the team.
The Bears season was mostly a disaster and now Marc Trestman and Phil Emery are gone and Jay Cutler could be on his way out as well. According to ESPN.com, Adam Schefter reported after the season that the Bears would consider trading Cutler to free up cap space, but moving his contract will be difficult. Emery gave him the deal after last season and the seven year contract worth $126.7 million still has a guaranteed $25.5 million coming to Cutler. UPDATE: The Bears have hired Ryan Pace as GM.
Cutler actually had one of his best statistical seasons, but he also led the league in interceptions and turnovers and was benched in Week 16 for Jimmy Clausen. Many speculated after that move could be made after the benching if Trestman remained, but that could be up in the air now that he is out. According to Schefter at ESPN.com, teams like the Tennessee Titans, Washington Redskins, Cleveland Browns, Houston Texans and NY Jets could be interested in making a move if Cutler is traded.
The Bears coaching and GM search will dictate what happens to Cutler and names like Mike Shanahan, Adam Gase, Dan Quinn, Arizona Cardinals defensive coordinator Todd Bowles and Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak could be options for the team. Trestman was an offensive minded coach and the team could go another way after things went south the past couple years. Cutler remains on the Bears, but his future remains up in the air until the situation is all settled.
The Bears struggled this season on offense and the defense was not very good either and the team ended up just 5-11 and have a top 10 pick in the draft. The team cut loose Marc Trestman and Phil Emery after a couple years and now they basically have to start over. Benching Cutler could have been the beginning of the end for Cutler and Trestman, but now that Trestman is gone, Cutler could remain. Many in the media felt the move was Trestman trying to save his job and now that he is out, the Bears may just patch things up with Cutler because of his massive contract.
The Bears ranked 15th in the league in passing yards per game last season and 27th in the league in rushing despite having Matt Forte in the backfield. The Bears were terrible on defense under Trestman, giving up record amounts of yardage and they ended up 30th in the league last season in passing yards per game.
Cutler played in 15 games and threw for nearly 4000 yards and while he had 28 touchdowns and completed 66 percent of his passes, he threw 18 interceptions and ended up on the bench towards the end of the season. The team went just 1-5 against the NFC North and they ended the season losing five games in a row and eight of their final 10 games.