Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler said Wednesday it appears he won't reach an agreement with the team on a contract extension, and the 2013 season will mark the final year of his current deal.
Jay Cutler joined "The Waddle & Silvy Show" on ESPN 1000 and talked about entering the final year of his contract, as well as the Bears' free-agent acquisitions.
"Yeah, I think that's probably the way we're headed," Cutler said on "The Waddle & Silvy Show" on ESPN 1000. "We haven't really talked about anything."We're upgrading in certain positions and I don't think we're really in position to do my deal. But like I said, [general manager Phil Emery] has a plan worked out, so we'll just have to see what happens. But I'm perfectly comfortable in the situation I'm in, and if we go into it with just this last year, then so be it. I'll play it out and we'll see what happens at the end of the year."
The Bears extended Cutler after acquiring him in a trade with the Denver Broncos before the 2009 season. The extension was worked out during the season and Cutler has said he'll never do that again, preferring to negotiate during the offseason. Cutler said Wednesday he'd love to stay with the Bears, and he lauded the free-agent acquisitions of offensive tackle Jermon Bushrod and tight end Martellus Bennett on Tuesday. Asked if he'll feel more pressure playing on the last year of his deal, Cutler said: "Being a quarterback -- and there are a lot of teams out there if it doesn't work out -- I want to stay here, I love the situation I'm in. I look at it as the opportunity as a whole. Coach [Marc] Trestman coming in, Phil doing the best possible job to upgrade the entire team, offensively us getting better, a new system, I think there's enough on my plate to kind of keep my mind occupied without having to worry about my deal."
The Bears' offensive woes were one of the reasons Emery cited in firing coach Lovie Smith and hiring Trestman. And after the signings on Tuesday, there's bound to be more pressure on the Bears' offense to produce like one of the top 10 units in the league.
"Ideally, yeah. It always doesn't work out like that," Cutler said. "I'm not going to guess what happens in the future. I think we're getting the pieces in place."Coach Trestman and his offense, I'm really excited about it, I think the guys will be really excited about it. Our approach to the offense and just the intensity we're going to approach each and every day. We're getting the pieces talent-wise around everybody. The defense is going to be really good once again and the special teams will be there as well. It's all about getting hot in December and making a push into the playoffs. So we have to stay healthy and some things have to fall our way. But I think Phil and everyone involved is doing everything possible to put us in a position to be successful. "
Jay Cutler expressed appreciation Wednesday for Chicago Bears general manager Phil Emery's free-agent acquisitions of left tackle Jermon Bushrod and tight end Martellus Bennett, and also addressed his contract and the uncertain status of Brian Urlacher.
"Phil's got a plan -- I don't know what the plan is, I think there are very few people that know -- and he finds a way to make it happen," the Bears quarterback said on the "Waddle & Silvy Show" on WMVP-AM 1000.
Cutler called the 6-foot-7 Bennett "an extremely athletic guy ... played a lot of basketball growing up, kind of has that tight end/basketball pedigree that people want. He's really good friends with (Brandon Marshall). I was talking to him yesterday and 'B' couldn't be more excited to add him to the team.
Asked how he felt about the prospect of having Bushrod, a two-time Pro Bowl tackle, protecting his blind side, Cutler said, "It makes life easier, that's for sure. Not only for me, but for game planning. You get a guy like that, you can go over there and say, 'Hey, you got that guy,' and we don't have to worry about him and the rest of the line can kind of turn and slide the other way."
Bennett, who is prolific on Twitter (@JoeGryffindor) and whose nickname is the Black Unicorn, will help "bring a looseness to that locker room, will ease in some fun," Cutler said. "You gotta have guys like that, who enjoy the game and are fun to be around. ... It's going to be fun."
As for Urlacher, the longtime Bears linebacker is a free agent and his future with the team is uncertain. Cutler expressed hope that Urlacher would return but acknowledged that the realities of the NFL salary cap could make that difficult.
"It's hard to lose a guy like that," Cutler said. "On the field, off the field, just his presence ... Hall of Fame player. ... Hopefully it works out, we just have to wait and see."
Asked what the locker room would be like without Urlacher, Cutler said, "I've been with teams where you lose players like that, keystones and cornerstones of the franchise. It happens. Other guys have to step up. ... If it doesn't work out and we have to part ways, other guys have to step up and we'll find some leaders along the way."
Cutler has one more season remaining on his contract and said he didn't expect that to change as far as negotiating an extension, with the team looking to bolster the roster in other areas. "We're upgrading in certain positions and I don't think we're really in position to do my deal," Cutler said. "But like I said, Phil's got a plan worked out, so we'll just have to see what happens. But I'm perfectly comfortable in the situation I'm in, and if
we go into it with just this last year, then so be it. I'll play it out and we'll see what happens at the end of the year."
"I'm comfortable with the situation I'm in," Cutler said. "We'll have to see what happens. ... I want to stay here, I love the situation we're in. I look at it as an opportunity as a whole ... with coach (Marc) Trestman coming in, Phil doing the best possible job to upgrade the entire team, offensively us getting better, a new system, I think there's enough on my plate to kind of keep my mind occupied without having to worry about my deal."
"We're getting the pieces talent-wise around everybody. The defense is going to be really good once again and the special teams is going to be there as well. It's all about getting hot in the end, in December, and making a push into the playoffs. So we have to stay healthy and some things have to fall our way. But I think Phil and everyone involved is doing everything possible to put us in a position to be successful. Cutler is bullish on the Bears' outlook for next season.
"We're getting the pieces in place," he said. "Coach Trestman and his offense, I'm really excited about it, I think the guys will be really excited about it -- our approach to the offense and just the intensity we're going to approach each and every day.
Last edited by Kaseem Sinceno; 03-13-2013 at 11:44 AM.
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