Chicago Bears General Manager Ryan Pace confirmed Wednesday that the team plans to keep Jay Cutler as starting quarterback.
“We’ve made that decision, we’re moving forward with Jay Cutler as our starting quarterback,” Pace said at a press conference following news the team signed a five-year deal with Pernell McPhee.
Pace said the team “never” considered trading Cutler and talked to him on a personal basis before coming to their conclusion.
“It’s not just Jay, it’s all of our players, it’s getting to know them as people,” Pace said.
During the offseason, Pace and head coach John Fox were both mum on the organization’s plans for Cutler, leading some to speculate that the team was trying to move the quarterback to another team. Teams like the Houston Texans and Tennessee Titans were discussed as potential landing spots, but with the sizable money Cutler is owed in 2015 ($15.5 million) and 2016 ($10 million in guaranteed money if he’s on the Bears’ roster on Thursday), there wasn’t exactly a line out the door of teams trying to acquire his services.
As for the team’s trading of Brandon Marshall, Pace said the move was “the best situation” for the team and for Marshall.
“We both feel good about where we’re at right now,” he said.
