The Chicago Bears considered a Jay Cutler trade this offseason, but the team never came close to making a move and now he has two new weapons in Jeremy Langford and Kevin White following the NFL draft and this comes as team will have Matt Forte and Martellus Bennett back along with Alshon Jeffery to give Cutler some weapons.
The Bears had a tough run under Marc Trestman and Phil Emery and now John Fox is in as head coach along with Ryan Pace at general manager. The team went offense with their first round pick and adding a player like White should give Cutler the chance to rebound after a tough 2014. Cutler's future in Chicago was under constant speculation after he was benched by Trestman for Jimmy Clausen, but it looks like he will be sticking it out in Chicago for now.
Fox told ESPN Chicago that Cutler will be the starter for offseason workouts and that came after he said that Clausen would get a look in training camp this summer. Cutler did not have a bad season stats-wise in 2014, but the offense was not consistent and he turned the ball over at a high rate. Fox brought in Adam Gase from Denver to take over as offensive coordinator and Gase said that he is "comfortable" with Cutler as the quarterback.
Peter King at the MMQB reported after the draft that the Bears "dangled" Cutler to the Titans in a trade offer heading into the first round of the draft last week. There were rumors leading up to the draft that the Chargers and Bears were interested in trading up with Tennessee to get Marcus Mariota, but the Titans opted to draft the quarterback themselves. Last season Cutler threw for a career best 28 touchdowns with 3812 passing yards and 18 interceptions.
Fox added two strong offensive players in the draft last week, taking Kevin White with the number seven overall pick and adding Jeremy Langford in the fourth round. The Bears traded Brandon Marshall this offseason and now White could step up and start alongside Alshon Jeffery. The team signed Eddie Royal and they also have Marquess Wilson, but White is expected to compete to play a contributing role after being very productive at West Virginia. Last season White had 109 catches for over 1000 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Forte was mentioned in trade talk earlier in the offseason and while that did not come close to happening, the running back is coming into the final year of his contract. Forte will be 30 years old at the end of the season and according to the Chicago Tribune, he is looking for a contract extension. Forte said that he is not planning on a hold out, but that doesn't mean he won't consider that as a possibility when training camp is on the horizon.
Last season Forte had a very productive year, rushing for 1038 yards and making a career best 102 catches for 808 yards and four touchdowns. The Bears took Langford in the fourth round and now he joins Jacquizz Rodgers and Ka'Deem Carey in what is shaping up as a solid group of running backs.
