OT: Bears lock up Cutler through 2020

18 mil for the first 3 years? More than Manning and Brady?

Good     (And I say that as a Lions fan...)

The Bears have a good enough offense to win a Super Bowl so I don't think it's a bad decision to lock up your QB. Realistically do you think drafting a QB would give them a better chance with this current roster? Probably not.

can't tell if this is a blessing or a curse.

Trestman does good work with QBs but I'm surprised any team would sign an older QB to a long term big money deal when Rookie contracts are relatively cheap and allow for more money to spent on complimentary offensive players and defense.  Not every QB can take guys in off the street and win 12 games like Tom Brady can.

Good for them.

He can make all the throws needed for them to win.

At least that's what I've been told.

This is good news for all the Lions fans!! 

Jay Cutler ain't even allowed at my houe anymore after he pissed in my vase I had purchased from the Ming dynasty.  

18 mill per year for Cutler....LOL

Good news to start 2014 for Lions fans.  Now time to hire a head coach with half a brain!

Hip Hip Hooray!

After a 10 win season, now this. It's got to be tough to be a fan of that front office.

Suckers!!

As a Bears fan, I am disappointed in this deal. I'd much rather they have spent the money shoring up the defense, as that was the main problem this past year. What a waste of money.

As a Bears fan I'm quite tossed on this decision. On the one hand I was hoping they would toss the dice, let him go and either go with McCown or draft someone.

But, on the other hand Cutler does play well at times. He seems to be grasping the new offense and sometimes it is better to go with what you know you have than to gamble on an unknown. With the Bears draft pick placement they certainly wouldn't have been able to get anyone ready to go without trading up and that's not something the Bears are known to do.

This also tells me the front office thinks they still have the roster to compete now for a Super Bowl rather than rebuild. Only issue is with the defense getting long in the tooth that window of opportunity is quickly closing. Need to start getting younger on that side of the ball quickly.

Not happy about the length of the contract and I predict he will either retire before it's completed or they will release him at some point down the line in about 4-5 years.

As a Bears fan I hate this move. But at least I'll have a few more years of smokinjaycutler to look forward to now. No way he makes it to year 7 but 4 or 5 more years of him pouting on the sidelines makes me a sad panda.

Their other options, really? Really good qbs do not hit the market, you're not expecting a difference maker in the middle of the first round, and with Marshall, Jeffrey, forte in various phases of their prime they are in win now mode. Makes sense to me.

Just a few thoughts:

Cutler broke the Bears CAREER passing records held by Sid Luckman this year. That's how long we've had terrible QB play. Do you other Bears fans not remember how awful we have been at QB?

Cutler will be playing with the same OC 2 years in a row for the first time since Denver. And his OC will not be Mike Tice.

Cutler's new deal will pay him LESS than Flacco, Rodgers, and Ryan, making it a pretty decent deal for the team

Cutler's had a real offensive coach for about 1 year. With Marshall, Bennet, Jeffery, Bennet and Forte plus a good OL, the sky really is the limit for this offense.

I think this is a good move. Cutler is a good, not elite QB. I think he can get better, and if he can't, the contract appears to be frontloaded.
QBs are hard to come by.

As a Bears fan, I'm sure I'm in the minority, but I don't have an issue with this move and actually like it.  A lot of people point to Cutler's numbers since he's been in Chicago compared to Denver, but his Oline prior to this year has been horrid.  He's been beat up over and over, they had a Mon or Sun night game a few years ago against the Giants where he was sacked like 10 times, and this year the line was significantly better due to great picks by the Bears in Long and Mills, plus the free agent aquisitions of Slauson and Bushrod.  Plus, prior to this year, he was in a constant flux of offensive systems like Martz and Tice that were long developing plays, unlike Trestman's West Coast scheme.  He's got all of the physical tools in a quarterback, the knock on him has been his decision making, but a great deal of that looks to be due to the lack of protection / playcalling in past years (sounds vaguely familiar to me being a Michigan fan).  They have the offense to win a Super Bowl and probably had the defense prior to the rash of injuries (Tillman, Briggs, Melton, etc).  The NFL is a quarterback league and the teams with high turnover rate at quarterback typically do not tend to do well: See Cleveland Browns.  Hopefully Cutler stays healthy going forward and continues to flourish in Trestman's system, and they put together a younger defense.

Not that surprising to us who actually follow the Bears here in the city. I love the deal, 18M per is just about right, removes a question mark, and allows them to address the defense and only the defense in the draft. I'm actually laughing at Lions fans who think having a coach and a qb is a worse situation than not having a coach with a qb who refuses to address his mechanics. Smokin' Jay >> Side-armed Stafford.

Wow, that was stupid.  Did they miss the part of this season where Josh McCown proved that in their scheme with their athletes, the Bears can get the same or better production out of the QB position at a fraction of the cost?

As a packers fan I approve this message.

I do not think I would lock him up that long. It is what it is though. Bears must like more than most. 

Players in the NFL basically have zero leverage. The guaranteed money is the only thing that matters. They can cut him whenever they want. Great deal by the Bears. 

I don't get it, Chicago, but go ahead and Romo if you want to.

Only thing about this that is surprising to me is the dollar amount, but Cutler is an above average to good QB, which is an upgrade over every other QB the bears have ever had. Locking him down means you can focus on acquiring offensive lineman and fixing the defense.

Should also add that the NFL, more so than any other sports league, is a "win now" league in terms of culture. Considering how much value is put on having a "Franchise QB" and time investment for drafting and grooming a rookie QB (who is more likely to flame out completely than become even a middle of the road starter), locking up even an average guy like Cutler is probably the smart move and as someone said earlier, there are several ways for GMs to manipulate contracts and personnel to stay under the cap.

I think keeping Cutler was a must.  As well as McCown played, he is older, and his track record speaks volumes.  I think it must be said that there is a reason he was out of the league...he had a great stretch, but can you imagine what would have happened if Cutler walked and McCown played like his career stats (about 1:1 td to int ratio, passer rating of like 78)?  Cutler is not elite, but he is the safer bet for the next few years.  Draft defensive side of the ball this year, particularly in the secondary and along the line.  Then, 2015 or 2016 look for QB of the future. 

the length of the deal is somewhat irrelevant.  They can always just cut him the second he starts sucking/gets injured.  This isn't baseball, where the Angels are stuck paying Pujols a guaranteed $20 million a year until he is 50.