A new era is officially beginning once again for the Chicago Bears. After letting go of Marc Trestman following a disappointing 2014 season, the Bears have hired former Denver Broncos head coach John Fox to take over. The Bears were considered one of the ideal landing spots for a head coach considering they already had a quarterback in place along with two star wide receivers and a few key defensive players. However, Fox is not totally sold on the quarterback spot being set.
A lot has been made regarding the future of Jay Cutler in Chicago. The quarterback signed a very large seven-year contract with the team and promptly failed to back it up with productive stats. The quarterback has $15.5 million in guaranteed money head his way in 2015 along with another $10 million in 2016 making him a very difficult asset for Chicago and Fox is well aware. That is why the head coach is not ready to commit to Cutler as the future of the franchise.
"It doesn't matter what player here, we're going to start that process and I'm not there yet," Fox said, via the Chicago Tribune. "I'm looking forward to getting to know Jay. I just reminded him that this game's only fun when you win, and we will."
With Fox now in place as the head coach, all focus is on Cutler and his pending future. Getting rid of Cutler is simply not easy. He does not have the success to interest teams in a trade. He is too expensive to simply release. There are multiple teams in need of a quarterback upgrade and anyone who misses out on Marcus Mariota and Jameis Winston could look Cutler's way. The Tennessee Titans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New York Jets and Houston Texans all need help at the position and making the trade seems logical if they can afford the contract.
The Bears need to bring in a quarterback this offseason regardless of Cutler's status simply because they might need a change at some point. Brian Hoyer, Mark Sanchez, Ryan Mallett and potentially Kirk Cousins are all solid and cheap options for Chicago to take on. The team is unlikely to make a marquee draft trade to acquire one of the two top options.
ESPN makes the case that right now, the best move could be to keep Cutler for at least one more year. The team could attempt to follow the Dallas Cowboys' plan and invest in pieces to build around the quarterback in hopes that it helps Cutler improve for the future. If that fails, he is gone.
