These are all reports until moves are made, but according to CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora, quarterback Jay Cutler is expected to return to the Bears in 2015.
Cutler has $16 million guaranteed on his salary for 2015, and on March 13, another $10 million of his $16 million salary in 2016 becomes fully guaranteed. Cutler has no inclination to alter his contract in any way to facilitate a deal, sources said, and he is waiting to see how the organization restructures for next season and who he will be working with on an offensive staff.
So Cutler is effectively guaranteed of making $32 million the next two seasons, on top of the $22 million he made this season, and a sampling of a host of executives and personnel people revealed a climate in which a trade would be viewed as just about impossible. Cutting Cutler costs $15.5 million and while the contract has offsets, which would allow the Bears to recoup money based on what Cutler would earn elsewhere, sources said that Bears ownership is nor prepared to explore those options.
Cutler was benched following last Monday night’s 31-15 loss to the New Orleans Saints in which he threw three interceptions as the Bears saw their record drop to 5-9. But La Canfora said the benching was not a move made to keep Cutler healthy in case of a trade.