Bears Facing Crossroads At Quarterback
After Monday night’s ugly loss to Philadelphia, Rich Campbell of The Chicago Tribune writes that the end of Jay Cutler‘s tenure with the Bears felt as real as it ever has. Each year since former head coach Lovie Smith was fired at the end of the 2012 season, the Bears have asked themselves whether they prefer Cutler to an alternative, and each year, the answer has been yes.
However, after looking at the success that rookie Carson Wentz had against them last week, and as they prepare for rookie signal-caller Dak Prescott this week, the Bears’ quarterback calculus could change sooner rather than later. After all, it could be tough for GM Ryan Pace and head coach John Fox to continue with a 33-year-old quarterback who has a 50-49 record and only one playoff victory in seven-plus seasons in Chicago, particularly a quarterback they inherited who has no more guaranteed money left on his deal as of 2017.
The problem is that a quarterback has not been the best player on the board when the Bears have been on the clock in the past two seasons, and it would not have made sense for the team to reach for a signal-caller when they had a solid quarterback on the roster with guaranteed money still to be paid. But with no succession plan in place, the Bears may have no choice but to grab a QB in the 2017 draft and hope they can find someone to lift them out of their cycle of mediocrity.
Fox Doesn't Second-Guess Bears Passing On Dak
- John Fox‘s team enters a Sunday-night Cowboys tilt at 0-2, but the second-year Bears coach didn’t second-guess his team for passing on fourth-round pick Dak Prescott in the draft. “Truth be told, I don’t know how much we would be talking about Dak,” Fox said, via Adam Jahns of the Chicago Sun-Times. “A lot of it in this case has been the opportunity, and he’s made the most of it. I’m not downgrading what he’s accomplished, but it’s how a lot of guys make their mark. Everybody starts off as a nobody, they get an opportunity, they have success, and now everybody’s aware of them.” Prescott enters Week 3 having completed 63% of his passes for 519 yards in relief of Tony Romo. He’s yet to throw a touchdown pass
Bears Work Out Cody Webster
- The Bears worked out free agent punter Cody Webster, according to Caplan (Twitter link). Per Caplan, Webster is the latest in a line of punters that has auditioned for Chicago. That could indicate that the club isn’t happy with incumbent specialist Pat O’Donnell, who ranks 26th in the league in net punt average.
Bears’ Jay Cutler “Pushing To Play” Sunday
Bears quarterback Jay Cutler is angling to play on Sunday night against the Cowboys, according to Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (Twitter link), who adds that Cutler is “politicking” coaches in an effort to suit up. However, given that the initial reports following Cutler’s thumb injury indicated that he’d miss two or three weeks, it’s probably a longshot that he could return to the field so soon.
[RELATED: Can the Bears rebound from an 0-2 start?]
Cutler hurt this thumb in the Bears’ season opener against the Texans. He played through the pain in Week 2 against the Eagles, but he wound up making the problem worse. Now, the Bears will use Brian Hoyer under center under Cutler is ready to take the field again.
With Hoyer starting, Chicago promoted former Eagles draft pick Matt Barkley from its practice squad to the active roster. He’ll backup Hoyer until Cutler can return, and then likely be sent back to the taxi squad.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Bears Promote Matt Barkley To Active Roster
The Bears announced that they have elevated quarterback Matt Barkley from the practice squad to the 53-man roster. Barkley will give the team additional depth while Jay Cutler is sidelined with a sprained thumb. Brian Hoyer is expected to start in the interim. 
[RELATED: Bears’ Jay Cutler To Miss 2 Or 3 Weeks]
Barkley was with the Cardinals this offseason but missed the 53-man cut. Soon after, he signed on with Chicago’s taxi squad. Barkley, 26, was a fourth-round pick of Chip Kelly’s Eagles in 2013. In two seasons with Philly, Barkley attempted 50 passes with four interceptions and zero touchdowns.
In related moves, fullback Paul Lasike was re-signed to the practice squad and outside linebacker Lamarr Houston was officially placed on IR. We learned earlier this week that Houston is done for the season after suffering a torn ACL.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Bears Add To Practice Squad
Chicago Bears
Poll: Which 0-2 Team Is Likeliest To Rebound?
Three-quarters of NFL teams have picked up at least one win this season, leaving eight stragglers that have begun 2016 with back-to-back losses. Historically, clubs that have lost their first two games haven’t rebounded to make postseason trips often. In fact, since the league expanded and reorganized its divisions in 2002, only 12 of 116 teams that have started a season 0-2 have gone on to earn playoff berths. Two of those occurrences came last season, with the Seahawks rallying to finish 10-4 and the Texans going 9-5 over their final 14 games.
Of the teams that are currently 0-2, Cleveland stands out as the one with no realistic chance to recover. As a club in a full-blown rebuild, the Browns were completely written off entering the season, and they’ve since lost their top two quarterbacks – Robert Griffin III and Josh McCown – and No. 1 receiver Corey Coleman to significant injuries.
Elsewhere, the Bears, Bills, Dolphins and Saints faced long odds to contend coming into the year, and their chances have worsened during the first two weeks.
The Bears are stuck in a tough NFC North with the Vikings and Packers, both of whom made the playoffs in 2015. Of greater concern, perhaps, is that injuries are hampering Chicago, which will go without quarterback Jay Cutler, linebacker Danny Trevathan and nose tackle Eddie Goldman for multiple weeks. Meanwhile, linebacker Lamarr Houston is out for the season with a torn ACL.
Buffalo, which has gone a league-worst 16 straight seasons without a playoff trip, is seemingly in shambles in Year 2 of the Rex Ryan era. Ryan fired offensive coordinator Greg Roman last Friday, the same day Bills ownership had a Ryan-less meeting with several of the team’s players. Previously, the Bills dropped winnable games against the Ravens and Jets, which doesn’t bode well for a team whose next two opponents – the Cardinals and Patriots – are elite.
The Dolphins, who are among the Bills’ AFC East rivals, began with an unkind schedule over the first two weeks. They had to go to Seattle and New England, where they lost close affairs. Miami’s next opponent is the aforementioned Browns, who are primed to start third-round rookie Cody Kessler under center. On paper, the Dolphins look likely to win their home opener, but few expect rookie head coach Adam Gase & Co. to make any real noise in the standings this year.
Like the Dolphins, the Saints have started 2016 with back-to-back one-score losses, including a 35-34 opener that the Raiders won with a late two-point conversion. New Orleans hasn’t necessarily played poorly, and it still has a high-powered offense, but a defense that already had issues coming into the year has since lost starting cornerbacks Delvin Breaux and P.J. Williams to major injuries.
In the AFC South, there were preseason cases made for both the Colts or Jaguars to contend for a divisional crown, but things haven’t gone according to plan for either.
Indianapolis moved the ball with ease through the air in Week 1 against the Lions, but its defense was woeful in a 39-35 loss. Then, in last week’s 34-20 defeat in Denver, quarterback Andrew Luck was ineffective. After missing most of last season with various injuries, he has been dealing with a shoulder issue throughout this season.
The Jaguars made several hyped offseason moves and entered the season with high expectations for a franchise that hasn’t won more than five games in a season since 2010. They played the Packers to the wire in Week 1, losing 27-23, but looked like the same old Jags on Sunday in a 38-14 defeat in San Diego.
Of this year’s winless crop, only the Redskins made the playoffs last season. Washington went 9-7 en route to an NFC East title, and the division once again looks like anyone’s to win, but the team won’t have a chance without quarterback Kirk Cousins regaining something resembling the form he showed in the second half of 2015. The Cousins-led Redskins will go on the road Sunday to face the division-rival Giants, who are 2-0. It’s foolish to use the phrase “must-win game” in Week 3, but Washington’s matchup with Big Blue comes close.
As mentioned, the Browns and Dolphins play each other this week. Barring a tie, then, one will break into the win column. The other six face teams that have gone 1-1 or better, and all could remain without a victory through Week 3. Notably, no club has started 0-3 and made the playoffs since the 1998 Bills. First things first, though, which of these eight stands the best chance to make a playoff run this season?
Which 0-2 Team Is Likeliest To Recover?
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Colts 27% (728)
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Saints 18% (489)
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Redskins 16% (421)
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Dolphins 13% (355)
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Jaguars 13% (347)
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Bills 5% (143)
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Bears 4% (108)
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Browns 2% (61)
Total votes: 2,652
Bears Promote RB Raheem Mostert
The Bears have promoted running back Raheem Mostert from the practice squad, as agent Brett Tessler tweets. Mostert was added to the taxi squad just last week, but it didn’t take long for him to get called up to varsity.
Jeremy Langford is the primary back in Chicago, but top understudy Ka’Deem Carey is dealing with a hamstring injury. Now, rookie Jordan Howard moves up a spot on the depth chart with Mostert occupying the No. 3 RB role until Carey gets back.
Mostert, a Purdue product, has been yo-yo’d on and off different NFL rosters since joining the league as a UDFA last year. After contracts with the Eagles, Dolphins, Ravens, Browns, and Jets, Mostert is hoping to find a more permanent home in Chicago. In addition to playing tailback, Mostert could also be a factor in the return game for the Bears.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Bears’ Jay Cutler To Miss 2 Or 3 Weeks
With his sprained thumb, Bears quarterback Jay Cutler is expected to be sidelined for two or three weeks, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). The exact timeline will depend on how he heals over the next three days. 
Cutler hurt this thumb in the Bears’ season opener against the Texans. He played through the pain in Week 2 against the Eagles, but he wound up making the problem worse. Now, the Bears will use Brian Hoyer under center under Cutler is ready to take the field again.
It will be interesting to see how Cutler’s injury impacts his future in Chicago. The signal caller is set to count for $16MM against the Bears cap in 2017 but the team could release him and be on the hook for just $2MM in dead money. If the Bears do not get a chance to fully evaluate Cutler this year, he may actually be likelier to remain in Chicago next year, Jason Cole of Bleacher Report posits. Of course, that might not be the preferred outcome for Bears fans.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Bears Undecided On Jay Cutler’s Future
If quarterback Jay Cutler‘s thumb injury keeps him on the shelf for an extended period of time, he could actually be likelier to remain with the Bears in 2017, according to Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link). The Bears hope to decide by season’s end whether to go forward with Cutler as a long-term option, says Cole, but if they’re unable to fully evaluate the signal-caller, his affordable deal might keep him in their plans next year.
The notion of another go-around with Cutler might not be an appealing one to Bears fans, of course, especially given the start he and the team have had in 2016. The Cutler-led Bears put up a combined 28 points in their first two games, losses to the Texans and Eagles. In a blowout home defeat to Philadelphia on Monday, Cutler tried to play through a thumb injury he suffered in Week 1, and he hit on 12 of 17 passes for 157 yards and an interception before exiting in the third quarter.
Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reported Tuesday that the banged-up Cutler could sit out a few weeks, and sources told Cole that he will miss significant time. That would leave the Bears with the experienced Brian Hoyer under center as they try to climb out of the NFC North cellar. Hoyer connected on 9 of 12 passes for 78 yards in relief of Cutler on Monday.
The Bears paid a hefty price for Cutler in 2009, sending two first-rounders, a third-rounder and fellow signal-caller Kyle Orton to Denver to acquire, but his tenure in Chicago has been a rocky one. In Cutler’s 99 regular-season starts, the team has hovered around .500 (50-49) – including a woeful 3-14 mark at Soldier Field since 2014 – as he has completed 61.9 percent of passes and tossed 151 touchdowns against 106 interceptions.
Chicago has made the playoffs just once with Cutler at the helm, in 2010, and is currently stuck in a six-year postseason drought. The team signed him to a seven-year, $126MM extension with $54MM in guarantees in January 2014, and he’s set to count $16MM against its cap in 2017. Releasing Cutler after the season would leave the Bears with just $2MM in dead money in 2017, though the club could instead opt to continue with him at the controls, as Cole reports.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.