After Brandon Marshall Trade, Bears at Point of No Return with QB Jay Cutler
Published by Zach Kruse on March 6, 2015
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears
One down, one to go?
The Chicago Bears have agreed to trade veteran receiver Brandon Marshall to the New York Jets, per Aaron Leming of Bear Report, leaving the team with one major decision to make before the start of the new league year next Thursday.
Jay Cutler. What to do with Jay Cutler.
By dealing Marshall, the Bears created almost $4 million in cap room and avoided paying out $7.5 million to a player no longer in the team’s long-term plans. Every penny of Marshall’s 2015 base salary was to become guaranteed if he remained on the roster March 12.
Cutler is working on the same timeline. And if the Bears have it their way, Cutler will be playing elsewhere next season.
According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, via Chris Wesseling of NFL.com, it’s no secret in league circles that the Bears have been shopping Cutler on the trade market.
“Teams certainly know that Jay Cutler is available,” Rapoport reported.
There is massive financial incentive for the Bears, but also a rapidly approaching deadline. If still on the roster come next Thursday, Cutler can lock in another $10 million of guarantees in 2016—on top of the $15.5 million he’s already guaranteed in 2015. Essentially, if Cutler isn’t traded in the next few days, he’s all but penciled in as the team’s quarterback for the next two years.
The whole situation is a difficult one for the Bears. Cutler is undoubtedly one of the 32 best quarterbacks around, and the league is currently bone-dry in terms of available options at the position. The evidence of this fact is overwhelming: The Cleveland Browns just spent a nice chunk of change to sign journeyman Josh McCown, while the Buffalo Bills dealt draft picks to the Minnesota Vikings for Matt Cassel.
Teams are taking desperate measures to find viable solutions at quarterback.
In a vacuum, Cutler would have a substantial market. But his overbearing contract and the fact he was benched in favor of Jimmy Clausen late last season have combined to sink his value. It’s now possible the Bears will either have to release Cutler at huge cost or simply hunker down and prepare for two more years with him on the roster.
And the Bears must also consider the quarterback market in their own calculations. Cutting Cutler without compensation would leave the position vacant. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Friday that Clausen had re-signed with the Bears, but Chicago won’t be going into next season with him as the team’s starting quarterback.
Trading Marshall was likely much easier.
Age, talent and contract were not driving forces for his departure. Marshall is still only 30 years old, with productive seasons ahead of him, and $7.7 million (including a $200,000 workout bonus) remains a cheap price tag for a top-20 receiver.
But new head coach John Fox made it very clear at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis that the decision to keep Marshall had many more factors involved.
“Regardless of who it is, I think their focus and energy needs to remain on what’s going to help us win a championship,” Fox said, via Rich Campbell of the Chicago Tribune.
New general manager Ryan Pace sang a similar tune.
“I just want to make sure that we understand the Chicago Bears and football are our No. 1 priority going forward,” Pace said.
The messages felt directed solely at Marshall, who traveled to New York to tape Showtime’s Inside the NFL every Tuesday last season. While it’s unknown how much of a factor his travel to the East Coast every week really was, it’s clear the Bears want committed football players.
The new regime of Fox and Pace are clearly looking for a fresh start. The slate would be wiped almost entirely clean if the team can offload both Cutler and Marshall, two of the most successful but highly polarizing players of the franchise’s recent history.
But the clock is ticking.
The Bears moved Marshall but now have less than a week to find a trade partner for Cutler. It’s still possible—quarterbacks remain the most coveted asset in the sport—but if Cutler remains on the roster Thursday, he’ll almost certainly be a member of the Bears through 2016.
The point of no return is rapidly approaching. The Bears avoided getting stuck with Marshall, but moving Cutler will be a difficult test for Fox and Pace before March 12.
All contract information via Spotrac.
Zach Kruse covers the NFC North for Bleacher Report.
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