After news broke Friday that Jay Cutler was joining the NFL on FOX, there was skepticism on whether he was committed to leaving his playing career behind for good. But the longtime starting quarterback tried to put those doubts to rest later Friday, telling Waddle & Silvy of WMVP-AM in Chicago that his exit from the field is indeed “permanent” (via Kevin Patra of NFL.com). At the same time, the former Bronco and Bear acknowledged that he’ll miss playing when the season inches closer.
“There is zero doubt in my mind that there is going to be some regret,” Cutler said. “I have no doubt in my mind come the middle of August, September there is going to be that itch to play. There is going to be part of me that I know I can still do it. But that’s now how the cards played out, and that’s not where we are at. I just don’t feel comfortable with a situation in August or September of jumping back into it, even if that situation arises, which I don’t think it’s going to.”
In an ideal world for the 34-year-old Cutler, he would still be a starting quarterback for someone, but he didn’t encounter much interest in free agency after a less-than-stellar, injury-shortened 2016 campaign. Cutler appeared in just five games last season in his eighth and final year in Chicago, which went an even 51-51 in his starts. Cutler would not have considered ending his playing career had the Bears kept him, nor would he have pondered a broadcasting job, he told WMVP-AM.
“There’s no way in hell I’m doing this,” Cutler thought when FOX first approached him. “This is literally the last thing I want to do.”
Cutler came around on the idea, though, and is now set to join play-by-play man Kevin Burkhardt and color commentator Charles Davis in a three-man booth next season. He’s the second big-name signal-caller to abruptly give up playing in favor of broadcasting this offseason, joining former Cowboy and-now CBS color announcer Tony Romo.
i dont understand the fascination of these networks hiring overpaid losers like Cutler and Romo…
because they’re white quarterbacks. that’s it
lol, you’re an idiot. Romo is Hispanic
Lol fact
Ofcourse its permanent,no teams wanted him
What in the world is he going to inform the viewers in he could not read a defense to save his life I mean job
Jay: throw the ball,he’s open.
Aikmen:calm down jay,thats the defense
I’m gonna miss Smokin’ Jay on the field, but I’m lookin forward to seeing him in the booth! I can only hope his on air persona matches how he was perceived as a player.