Adam Gase may or may not be returning to the Chicago Bears in 2016, but fans can count on seeing Jay Cutler under center once again. By all accounts, the quarterback had an improved season under the offensive coordinator and new head coach John Fox, but was it enough to ease concerns for the future? The Chicago Bears have their sights set on building for the future which might include putting depth behind Cutler in the coming season.
According to general manager Ryan Pace via the Chicago Sun-Times, confidence is still high in Cutler and the team will build around the quarterback in the coming offseason. Cutler's numbers were better as his turnovers dropped and he kept the team moving despite all of the injuries at the skill positions. That alone as the team thinking Cutler can still play at a high level and will base their draft and free agency decisions on him.
"I think Jay knows that we have extreme confidence in him," Pace said, via the Chicago Sun-Times. "We're going to continue to build the offense around him; I think he knows that. I think he also knows that, 'Hey, we're always going to draft best player available, too, and acquire as much talent as we can.' We've been very open and honest with all our players."
Cutler's career has certainly been a roller coaster with consistency being a big issue for the quarterback. There is lingering doubt that he can sustain success if Gase heads elsewhere for a head coaching job. Behind Cutler is not much which could lead the Bears to look at a quarterback in the early rounds of the NFL Draft. There is a lot of talent coming out of the college ranks. According to NFLMockDrafts.com, the Bears could take a similar route to the Packers or Chargers who drafted a quarterback in the first round despite having veteran talent already on the roster.
Bleacher Report's Matt Miller believes Jared Goff, Paxton Lynch and Carson Wentz are the best options in the first round. Connor Cook and Christian Hackenberg could be worthy of a second-round look. The Bears will select at No.11. They need defensive help and an offensive lineman, but if a quarterback falls into their lap, they might just take it.
Outside of Cutler, the Bears have contract issues to look at regarding both Matt Forte and Alshon Jeffery. Forte has made it clear that he wants to return, but doubts he will get an offer from the team. Jeffery is looking to cash in and is making it known he has no plans on taking a franchise tag as that would be the likely outcome should his agent and the Bears fail to get a long-term deal done. Jeffery's injuries could make a deal hard to get done as Pace told the media the team has a lot of evaluating to do.
"Obviously when Alshon played he was explosive and a playmaker for our offense," Pace said, via ESPN.com. "The previous two seasons he'd been healthy and highly productive. He was frustrated by his injuries. We were frustrated by his injuries. We got to get a better grasp of that. Part of the evaluation of a player is his injuries and his availability. We'll take that into account."
