Quarterback Jay Cutler may have played his final game with the Chicago Bears. In the midst of an injury-plagued and frustrating season, we already know that Cutler will likely move on from the team when March comes calling.
The enigmatic quarterback will now reportedly have surgery to repair a torn labrum in his shoulder and will be placed on season-ending injured reserve.
John Fox says that Jay Cutler will have surgery on Saturday and be placed on IR.
— Kevin Fishbain (@kfishbain) December 1, 2016
At 2-9 on the season, the Bears are simply playing out the string in hopes of receiving a high draft pick. Sunday’s game against the one-win San Francisco 49ers will play a major role in that. It’s in this that Matt Barkley will be the team’s starter for the remainder of the season.
As it relates to Cutler, the writing has been on the wall for some time here. He was injured earlier in the season, only to remain benched in favor of Brian Hoyer. Once Hoyer himself went down to a season-ending injury, the Bears had no other choice but to start Cutler again.
It’s at this point that the struggling quarterback continued to play at an inefficient level, leading to further speculation that the Bears may move on from him following the 2016 season.
Cutler is set to count $16 million against the cap next season, but boasts a small $2 million cap hit. This will make it easy for the Bears to release him should a trade not come to fruition.