Bears Blitz

Jay Cutler Injury: Updates on Bears QB’s Week 17 Status and Fantasy Value

Published by Tim Daniels on December 26, 2011
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears

Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler injured his thumb against the San Diego Chargers in Week 11 and hasn’t played since. Prior to the team’s loss on Sunday night, the Bears were optimistic about his chances of playing in the finale. It’s unclear how their elimination will affect the decision, however.

Keep checking back to this page throughout the week for the latest news on Cutler’s status and potential fantasy value should he return to the field vs. the Minnesota Vikings in Week 17.

UPDATE: Tuesday, Dec. 27 at 3:33 p.m. EST by Michael Dixon

ESPN’s Adam Schefter is reporting that Cutler has been placed on Injured Reserved, along with running back Matt Forte.

Given that the Bears are officially eliminated, this makes complete sense.

UPDATE: Monday, Dec. 26 at 2:35 by Tim Daniels

Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune updated Cutler’s status and it’s not a good news. It’s looking like the quarterback will take a backseat to Josh McCown for another week as his thumb injury continues to progress.

Chicago Bears coach Lovie Smith confirmed Jay Cutler will have pins removed from his right thumb Tuesday, but it’s highly unlikely the quarterback will return to play in Sunday’s season finale at Minnesota.

Unless something drastic changes over the next few days, it sounds like the Bears are going to give Cutler the entire offseason to get back to 100 percent. For a team that no longer has any hope of making the playoffs, it’s probably the right call.

UPDATE: Monday, Dec. 26 at 1:30 p.m. ET by Richard Langford

Michael C. Wright of ESPNChicago.com tweeted that just because the Bears are out of playoff contention they are not going to automatically rule out QB Jay Cutler for the season’s finale.

While Lovie Smith says they are going to approach it like the playoffs are on the line this may be taking it a bit far.

The idea of Cutler returning to the field for one meaningless game seems a bit far-fetched. To that end, Lovie himself doesn’t seem to be holding his breath waiting for Cutler.

Monday, Dec. 26 at 11:15 a.m. ET

There haven’t been any updates on Cutler since yesterday’s game, as the team is probably deciding its best course of action with just one game left to play. Gregg Rosenthal passed along a positive report from Jay Glazer last week.

Jay Cutler is continuing to progress in his recovery from thumb injury. The question is whether the Bears will still be in the playoff race by the time he’s able to play. (…)

Glazer also said the team was relatively optimistic Cutler could return for the team’s Week 17 finale — if the Bears are still in playoff contention at the time.

It wouldn’t seem like a smart idea for Chicago to rush Cutler back into action with nothing to play for but pride. The Vikings, who just lost Adrian Peterson to injury in a meaningless game, should provide all the evidence the Bears need to leave their QB on the sideline.