The Chicago Bears are dealing with an injury to Jay Cutler that could turn out to be very serious and while there are many questions for the team this season, there are even more regarding the quarterback and his future, as he is set to be a free agent after this season and does not have an extension with the team.
ESPN.com is reporting that Cutler is dealing with a serious groin injury that could keep him out for a month and an MRI showed that he tore a muscle after leaving the loss to the Washington Redskins last week. The team has now lost three of four games after starting 3-0 and now with Cutler out, Josh McCown will get the start and that is a steep drop off in talent for Marc Trestman and his offense, which despite losing on Sunday, put up over 40 points for the first time this season. The injury to Cutler forces him to miss games yet again and now that marks the fourth straight season he has done so and the fourth time I five seasons with the Bears that he has missed starts for injuries. Last season he missed one game and he did the same in 2010 and in 2011 he missed six games and now he likely will be out for four weeks or possibly more with the groin injury.
This season Cutler is having a very solid year with over 1,600 yards passing already with 12 touchdowns and he is completing over 60 percent of his passes, which is his highest total since back in 2010 when he had 23 touchdowns and over 3,200 yards passing. Cutler's future was up in the air when he entered the season, as the Bears had chosen the Joe Flacco route and decided not to give him an extension and now his injury clouds things even more.
Cutler likely will end up being a free agent and as suggested by some writers, why wouldn't a team like the Oakland Raiders, Jacksonville Jaguars or Tampa Bay Buccaneers throw big money at this guy? If they have the space, why not? He has a big arm and would be an immediate upgrade for any of those teams and while he has a history of injuries, he also is a very capable quarterback and could help transform those offenses.
The Bears signed Jordan Palmer as a backup and McCown is expected to start after the teams bye week, which comes out against the Green Bay Packers on Monday night football. The Bears won against the Giants on Thursday night and now face a tough stretch with the Green Bay Packers, Detroit Lions and Baltimore Ravens in consecutive weeks. The team continues down with two away games at the Rams and Vikings and then the team hits Monday night football again with the Dallas Cowboys.
