Jay Cutler Apologizes to Devin Hester, But He Didn't Need To

Jay Cutler doesn't know when to stop talking.

That was the chorus when Cutler supposedly insulted Bears receiver Devin Hester after the Bears' preseason loss to Buffalo Saturday. Cutler said the following:

“You know, Devin is more of a go-get-it guy, he’s not really a back shoulder, or jump up and get it,” said Cutler. “You learn from it. We made some mistakes. It’s the first preseason game, luckily enough we have some time to correct them and keep going.”

This apparently was a major shot across Devin Hester's bow. The way local sports types reacted, it was as if Cutler had walked up to Hester, put two hands in front of his facemask, and slowly turned the crank until his middle finger waved directly in Hester's face.

Really, it wasn't even an insult; Cutler was pretty obviously trying to describe the way Hester's game ought to affect the way he makes throws, and that Hester isn't (this part is also pretty obvious) the kind of receiver that's going to jump up and challenge a poorly thrown, back-foot ball. Still, the widespread interpretation forced Cutler to apologize, which he apparently did today:

"He's fine. I'm fine. Things get taken out of context and blown out of proportion all the time. He has done a great job. He's a No. 1 receiver and he has done a heck of a job on the field and in the classroom."

Cutler was asked to clarify his comments because he believed they were taken out of context. "He's a go-down-the-field-and-get-the-ball [receiver]," Cutler said. "It was a bad ball. I didn't give him a chance. I have to throw it down there and let him run under it."

In other words, despite the fact that Hester didn't mind Cutler's comment at all, and despite the fact that the comment wasn't even that big of a deal in the first place, we now have our first Jay Cutler apology of the season. Banner day! if this keeps up, we can schedule two press conferences for every game: one immediately following, in which Cutler talks about the game; and one 30 minutes after that, when Cutler discusses what he meant to say in the previous press conference and clears up any misinterpretations because, you know, just in case.

This is Bears season, circa mid-August. For the love of God, get us to September. Now.

Eamonn Brennan is a Chicago-based writer, editor and blogger. You can also read him at Yahoo! Sports, Mouthpiece Sports Blog, and Inside The Hall, or at his personal site, eamonnbrennan.com. Follow him on Twitter.