Its the question that has been being discussed around the water coolers at work and over the radio waves. What should the Bears do this off season? With Josh McCown playing like he is what should the Bears do with Jay Cutler? Well I am here to answer these questions, at least in my opinion.
First off the Jay Cutler question. If anything Josh McCown has shown that you don't need to be an elite quarterback to succeed in the Mark Trestman offense. You don't need a big arm, you don't need to be supremely intelligent, you don't even need to have pin point precision. You just have to buy into the system. I know what your thinking. I agree with you. I am not proposing that just anybody should run the offense. That being said here is what I propose. Offer Jay Cutler a 10 million a year deal. If he takes the deal you just got Jay Cutler for the approximate price of Alex Smith. If he rejects it then you have saved some money. You then decide to Double Josh McCowns salary. Give him a 2 year deal worth 3 million dollars. With Cutler likely departing you have to draft a QB. (Side-note: Even if Cutler stays you need to draft a QB of the future). I don't like the idea of reaching for somebody in the first round, but by my estimation Aaron Murray and Tajh Boyd would still be around by Chicago's second round pick. I personally would go with Murray and hope he develops similarly to Stafford. You then need to build the team to win as Stafford is hitting his prime. To do that you need to help the defense. You will likely be drafting Clinton-Dix in the first round to address some db issues. Any you probably take a D-lineman in the third round. You offer Julius Peppers a restructured deal and if he does not take it you sadly have to let him walk. Using the money you have saved on Cutler and Peppers you pay Brandon Marshall, and resign Charles Tillman. Jennings likely asks for too much money and becomes a casualty of the being too expensive. If you can get a bargain on either Marshall or Tillman then you can make a run at Jennings, if not then you will have to draft a corner in a later round of the draft.
The Bears are in a relatively good position but they have to start building towards the future. If they don't start the rebuilding process now they will end up riding the current team they have into the ground.
Please feel free to leave your thoughts and comments.
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To your initial premise: I'm not sure Josh McCown has proven anything. While McCown has played well in his role, his success may be due largely to the novelty of Trestman's offense in the NFL. It could be that a player that lacks the big arm, ends up putting more pressure on the offense as teams adjust and player closer to the line of scrimmage.
ReplyDeleteWith that said, I have no idea what the Bears should in this situation. They are really stuck between a rock and a hard place. Do you let Cutler walk? Do you franchise and deal him? Do you franchise and keep him? Or do you sign him to a long term contract? 10 Million a year will not get it done, and I don't think anyone should expect to pay that little for a QB of his talent.
What I think has happened is that Chicagoans have forgotten just how bad QB play can be, and we are the one group of people that should not have forgotten this. I do not see a need to let Cutler walk. There would really be no point. It would essentially be asking our team to take a position where there is no hole, and create one, on top of ALL the holes we have on defense. I say keep him. Sign him to a 4-5 year deal.