By BRAD BIGGS
By BRAD BIGGS
Tribune News Service
Maybe the biggest revelation in a bombshell day Friday at Halas Hall was the admission by Jay Cutler that with extreme scrutiny on the future of coach Marc Trestman and his coaching staff, he cannot be certain about his own status.
“That’s a fair question,” Cutler said. “I don’t know if I can answer it for you, though. It’s something at this point in my career, it’s out of my hands. Whatever happens, management, Trestman, Phil (Emery), those guys will make that decision, and we’ll talk about that when that happens, I guess.”
It’s becoming increasingly difficult to imagine Trestman will have a say in future critical decisions. The defense is an abomination again this season, and the offense has been reduced to a spectacle. While cleaning out the coaching staff with Trestman having two years left on his contract and with coordinators believed signed for one more season isn’t the kind of business decision the McCaskeys have been known to make, it might be inevitable with three games remaining.
The cost of ushering out the coaching staff, however, would come at a fraction of what it would cost to move on from Cutler, who has won one playoff game in six seasons with the Bears and has had countless decisions centered around him. The bill for starting over with new coaches and a new plan at quarterback would be huge — more than $25 million.
There are not going to be exciting options in free agency, where choices could include guys like Brian Hoyer and Mark Sanchez, and the draft will offer no sure things. The organization would have to establish a plan if it wanted to make a pricey divorce.
The Bears don’t have the flexibility with Cutler that other clubs do with quarterbacks that were extended before this season. The 49ers, Bengals and Chiefs invested big in Colin Kaepernick, Andy Dalton and Alex Smith, respectively. The Niners and Bengals, in particular, have much more club-friendly contracts.
Cutler’s contract fully guaranteed him $38 million when it was signed. Kaepernick, in the midst of a rocky season that is likely the last in San Francisco for coach Jim Harbaugh, was fully guaranteed only $12.97 million at the time of signing. Dalton, who reached the playoffs in each of his first three seasons without getting a playoff victory, was fully guaranteed $17 million. Smith was fully guaranteed $30 million.
The Bears’ contract assures Cutler $15.5 million for 2015, and if he is on the roster on the third day of the 2015 league year, which will come in March, a $10 million guarantee for 2016 kicks in. The final $6 million in the much-reported number of $54 million guaranteed comes in March 2016.
So the Bears could get out from under the contract at the end of this season, but they would have to pay Cutler $15.5 million to exit on top of the $22.5 million he has earned this season.
Kaepernick, who is 4-2 as a starter in the playoffs with a Super Bowl appearance, had his rookie contract extended. The Bengals also extended the rookie contract of Dalton, so that separates them from Cutler, 31. The Bears executed Cutler’s contract in January before the other deals, and there was speculation his deal created a hold-up for the others.
Whether the Bears have buyer’s remorse really doesn’t matter. It’s apparent to anyone, whether they support Cutler or not, that he hasn’t provided a commensurate return on the investment.
Problems are spread far wider than Cutler within the franchise, but he hasn’t gotten the job done in four offensive systems now. That, above all else, will force the Bears to at least consider all options when the season ends.
“When you just got paid a big contract and you’re a quarterback, that’s part of the deal,” Cutler said. “To say it doesn’t affect me, I don’t know if that’s true or not. I’m human just like everybody else.”
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Not every free-agent addition has been a hit for the Bears in recent years, but they have done well with former Saint Jermon Bushrod, who signed a seven-year, $35.965 million contract last year. Left tackle was the biggest hole on the roster before Bushrod, a Pro Bowl performer in New Orleans, was added.
According to STATS, Bushrod allowed seven sacks in his final two seasons with the Saints with three holding penalties. In the 29 games since he left, Charles Brown and Terron Armstead have allowed 14 sacks with six holding penalties. Armstead, a third-round pick from Arkansas-Pine Bluff last year, is improving quickly and looks to be a building block for the Saints.