Cutler Ruled Out for Sunday

The Chicago Bears officialy named Todd Collins their starter agains the Carolina Panthers Sunday.

Jay Cutler won't play because of complications from the concussion he incurred Sunday against the New York Giants.

Cutler was sacked a record nine times in the first half of the game. The Bears website carried this message.

After practicing on a limited basis Wednesday, Cutler met with Bears doctors and an independent consultant. 

Both parties recommended that Cutler, who has made steady progress, continue to work out on a limited basis through the end of the week and sit out Sunday’s game before being re-evaluated again early next week.

Cutler wasn't cleared to practice by an independent doctor Wednesday, but appeared on the field any way. That could become a bugaboo for the team as it may have been a violation of NFL policy.

As ESPN's Kevin Seifert points out: 

The league's policy bars players who have suffered concussions from any football-related activities until they've been medically cleared to return. So if the concussion ultimately prevents Cutler from playing Sunday, the Bears would be in violation of the policy for allowing him to practice Wednesday.

Here's how the policy reads:

Once he is removed for the duration of a practice or game, the player should not be considered for return-to-football activities until he is fully asymptomatic, both at rest and after exertion, has a normal neurological examination, normal neuropsychological testing, and has been cleared to return by both his team physician(s) and the independent neurological consultant.

The last time Todd Collins started was in 2007 for the Washington Redskins. He went 3-0 to close out the season.

Contact Us