The Chicago Bears may look at a Jay Cutler trade this offseason and teams like the Washington Redskins, Tennessee Titans, Washington Redskins, NY Jets, Buffalo Bills or Cleveland Browns could be interested in a deal and this comes as John Fox has brought in Adam Gase as offensive coordinator after being hired as head coach.
Fox had his first press conference with the team last week and he was asked about Cutler and his future, saying that it was too early to comment about the 2015 season and the quarterback situation. Cutler was benched in Week 16 by Marc Trestman for Jimmy Clausen and started in Week 17 after Clausen was injured. Cutler had a very up and down season, leading the league in interceptions and turnovers, but he put up some of his best career numbers with 3812 yards and 28 touchdowns.
Making things tough with Cutler is the fact that he was the highest paid player in football last season and has a mega contract going forward. Ryan Pace and Fox now have to decide what to do with Cutler, as he still is a very good quarterback, but the team could get a nice package for him with draft picks. Moving that money also would enable the team to spend in other places, including on defense where they need to improve.
Bringing in Gase as offensive coordinator could be good for Cutler, as Gase was able to help Peyton Manning have some of the best seasons of his career with the Broncos. According to ESPN.com, Gase was interviewed this week and spoke with general manager Ryan Pace and head coach John Fox along with chairman George McCaskey and now he will take over an offense that ranked in the bottom half of the league in passing yards and rushing yards per game this season.
The Bears have some top offensive talent, including Brandon Marshall, Matt Forte and Alshon Jeffery along with Cutler. Gase helped the Broncos to the top scoring offense over the last two seasons, leading in points per game and total offense. The Bears need some help on that side of the ball, as the offense regressed despite the fact that Trestman was an offensive minded coach.
The Bears are coming off of a disappointing season and they fired both Marc Trestman and Phil Emery and now start over with Fox and Ryan Pace. Fox comes in after getting let go by the Broncos after four seasons and in that time he won four division titles and made it to one Super Bowl. Fox now takes over and he already has given the team a different feel, as former linebacker Brian Urlacher said he felt "uncomfortable" at the facility with Trestman and Emery in charge. Fox now has to turn around a 5-11 team and he will be looking to improve the roster on both sides of the ball.
Gase has strong offensive ties and he has worked with quarterbacks in the past, serving as an assistant with the Broncos in 2011 and 2012. Gase worked with Kyle Orton and Tim Tebow before Peyton Manning came to Denver and now he will have the chance to turn around Jay Cutler if the team keeps him. The Redskins, Bills and Jets have been mentioned as potential options for Cutler along with the Titans.
