2016: The Last Stand
This is it. Nine games now stand between Jay Cutler and his NFL livelihood. Nearly everybody is in agreement that the Bears brass has their eyes toward the future. After watch Cutler flounder early in the season and knowing he’ll be 34 in 2017, it’s almost inevitable they will seek a young option at quarterback. For Jay it’s not about being the long-term guy anymore. It’s about whether he can postpone the rise of a new area for another year or two.
Can he be that stopgap guy? He really doesn’t have much to lose at this point. The Bears are 1-6. If he can string together some wins down the stretch, his odds are certain to go up. Teammates continue to support him. Odds are he’ll have help from others returning healthy after the bye. The schedule remains relatively easy. Assuming his survival instinct remains intact, who knows, Maybe Cutler has one more unexpected escaping of the ax up his sleeve.