Ryan Pace: 'Jay's Our Quarterback'
(CBS) The biggest question surrounding the 2015 Bears has been definitively answered.
After being non-committal toward Jay Cutler for the first two months on his new job, Bears general manager Ryan Pace on Wednesday confirmed that Cutler will be Chicago's starting quarterback this coming season.
"We went through a process of thoroughly evaluating the roster, and we're moving forward with Jay Cutler as our starting quarterback," Pace said Wednesday at a press conference.
"Jay's our quarterback, and that's what we're doing and that's what we're looking forward to."
Cutler led the NFL in turnovers in a 2014 season marked by inconsistency. Lately, multiple reports indicated the Bears were trying to trade him, but Pace shot down that notion.
"Zero, we never did that," Pace said.
"We've spent time with him on a personal basis, just getting to know him as a person. I think just being thorough with all that, that helped us come to this conclusion ... He's a good football player. Going forward, we felt this was best for us, and quite frankly, it's the best situation for him too."
New coach John Fox supported the decision to keep Cutler, though his words weren't all that glossy.
"Obviously good," Fox said when asked how he felt having Cutler as his starter. "We made the commitment. Time will tell for all of us. We're not even on the grass yet. I watched Jay compete in the past. We gained a lot of information moving forward. I think there's a talent level there that obviously we feel good enough to explore."
Fox said that despite entering his tenth NFL season, there's still room for Cutler to grow and shared what question he asks of a player when doing his evaluations.
"I think the biggest thing for me is, is a guy willing to work?," Fox said. "If a guy will work at it, he can get better. If he's not willing to work at it he's not getting better. In this league you don't stay the same – you're either getting better or getting worse. So what I saw and learned of him is intelligence, he's wiling to work at it, so I think he's capable of improving."
At this point in his career, it's no longer about talent with Cutler, it's about production. Fox pointed out Cutler's physical skills and football intelligence, but feels it's not just a matter of Cutler being better, the entire team has room for improvement, evidenced by their 5-11 record.
One thing Fox is curious to learn about Cutler is who he is as a leader.
"I think it's hard to say (if Cutler can lead) because I haven't really seen him interact with his teammates yet," Fox said. "I think it's something that I think all of us can get better at on a daily basis, and we'll see where that goes going forward."
On Thursday, $10 million of Cutler's 2016 base salary will become guaranteed. He signed a seven-year deal in January 2014 worth $54 million guaranteed. Practically speaking, it will be far easier for the Bears to get out of his big-money contract after the 2015 season because he won't have big guaranteed money owed to him.