The Chicago Bears have John Fox coming in as head coach and the team may look at a Jay Cutler trade or a move with Brandon Marshall or Matt Forte this offseason and heading into 2015 teams like the Washington Redskins, Cleveland Browns, NY Jets, Houston Texans and Tennessee Titans could be interested if general manager Ryan Pace makes major changes.
Cutler is not likely to get traded due to his large contract that he signed before last season, but so far Fox and Pace have been "noncommittal" about the quarterback into 2015. According to ESPN.com and Jeff Dickerson on Twitter, Fox and Pace have made similar comments about Brandon Marshall and along with Cutler the leadership has not made any final decisions about next season. Cutler was benched during the 2014 season and led the Bears to a 5-11 record, while Marshall dealt with injuries and other issues.
Cutler actually put up some solid stats last season, but he led the league in interceptions and had six lost fumbles. Cutler was benched in Week 16 by Marc Trestman for Jimmy Clausen, but now the head coach is gone and a new general manager has taken over as well. The last general manager, Phil Emery, gave Cutler the seven year contract and he will make $15 million this season as one of the highest paid quarterbacks. Last season Cutler was the highest paid player in football and that made the move even more glaring when he was benched.
The Bears have solid offensive talent with Cutler, Alshon Jeffery, Matt Forte, Martellus Bennett and Marshall, but there is a chance they could look at making major moves this offseason. Moving Cutler would net the team a strong package of draft picks and they could use that to rebuild on the fly for Fox. The Bears hired Fox after four years with the Broncos and he won division titles each season. Fox also showed he could work with any type of quarterback, as he had Kyle Orton, Tim Tebow and Peyton Manning and still managed to win. Cutler needs a bounce back season if he stays and that means offensive coordinator Adam Gase will have to get things going after the way the unit faltered last year.
The Bears defense was a mess and the offense ranked 15th in passing yards per game and 27th in rushing yards per game despite the fact they had Forte. Marshall had a down year and the team may not want him to continue doing Inside the NFL after sources said it may have distracted him during the season in 2014. Marshall played in 13 games and dealt with injuries and he said after meeting with Fox and Pace he was "assured nothing" about the 2015 season. Marshall could get released or traded, as he has a base salary of $7.5 million that will be guaranteed in March.
Cutler set career highs with the Bears in completion percentage and touchdown passes, but he was not consistent and also turned the ball over too much. Cutler had 3812 yards in 15 games and if he sticks around the team will try and cut down on his interceptions and turnovers overall next year.
