LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Pace and head coach John Fox changed their previously noncommittal tune regarding quarterback Jay Cutler on Wednesday, announcing he'll remain the starter as the club prepares for the 2015 season.
"We've made that decision," Pace said. "Like I said before, we went through a process of thoroughly evaluating the roster, and we're moving forward with Jay Cutler as our starting quarterback."
Less than a month ago at the NFL combine, Pace and Fox declined to commit to Cutler, citing the need to become more acquainted with the quarterback personally before making a final decision. But after several face-to-face meetings and thorough tape evaluation of Cutler dating all the way back to his rookie season, Pace and Fox decided he'd remain the team's starter.
The public endorsement of Cutler makes Thursday, the third day of the new league year, insignificant with regard to the quarterback's immediate future. Cutler's $15.5 million base salary for 2015 is already fully guaranteed. Another $10 million of the quarterback's 2016 salary becomes guaranteed for injury on Thursday at 4 p.m. ET. The announcement Tuesday virtually guarantees that happening.
"We made the commitment," Fox said. "Time will tell for all of us. We've not even been on the grass yet. I've watched Jay compete in the past. We gained a lot of information. Moving forward I think there's a talent level there, obviously we feel good enough to explore. Like all our players, they're going to get a chance to compete and see how we perform. That's the exciting part about this. This game is about relationships. We wanted to explore those and get comfortable with those before we made the decision. That's why we took as much time as we could to evaluate and assess the situation."
The evaluation process Pace described as "thorough" involved the GM and Fox as well as quarterbacks coach Dowell Loggains and offensive coordinator Adam Gase.
Pace denied the Bears ever shopped Cutler in a trade, saying "we never did that." Asked whether the Bears fielded calls about a potential trade for the quarterback, Pace said, "those things never occurred." Pace doesn't believe the organization needs to mend fences or make any assurances to Cutler, despite an early offseason of uncertainty for the quarterback.
"This is a new group that's coming together, new general manager, new head coach, new coaches," Pace said. "This was just a process for us all. So I don't feel like there's any fence mending [that needs to be done]. He understood the process that we were going through. We're excited together going forward."
Cutler's inconsistent performances last season, which ultimately resulted in him being benched, led to widespread speculation that Chicago considered cutting him loose either through trade or an outright release.
But even in a down year, Cutler set the franchise's season-single record for completions (370) during the team's 5-11 2014 campaign, and posted career highs in completion percentage (66) and passing touchdowns (28). But Cutler tied Philip Rivers for most interceptions in the NFL with 18. He also lost six fumbles to lead the league in turnovers.
Still, at the end of the team's evaluation process, Pace and Fox come away with the feeling Cutler can improve.
"I think the biggest thing for me is a guy willing to work," Fox said. "If a guy will work at it, he can get better. If a guy's not willing to work at it, he's not getting better. In this league you don't stay the same. You're either getting better or you're getting worse. So what I saw and learned of him is intelligence. He's willing to work at it. So I think he's capable of improving."
Despite the brass naming Cutler the starter Tuesday, Fox pointed out depth charts exist because "we've got to start somewhere." So it wouldn't come as a surprise if Fox opened up the competition for the starting job at quarterback.
The team recently re-signed backup Jimmy Clausen, who took over as starter when Cutler was benched, and he has history with Fox, dating back to their time together in Carolina in 2010.
"Our experience has been that you create competition at all positions and let guys compete," Fox said. "We'll see how that goes. It's way too early to talk about the final depth chart. It's not where you start the race. It's where you finish. But you have to start somewhere."
Cutler owns a 61-58 regular-season record as a starter.
