Eleven years ago today, the Chicago Bears traded for quarterback Jay Cutler. Let’s look back at the trade that went down in 2009, and the career that Cutler had with the Bears.
In early 2009, the Bears traded Kyle Orton, a pair of first-round picks and a third-round pick to the Denver Broncos for their hopeful franchise quarterback in Cutler.
By comparison, during Orton’s three seasons with the Bears, he had a record of 21-12, while Cutler had a record of 17-20 in his first three seasons in Denver.
Orton was a proven winner here in Chicago, and Cutler had a bit of an attitude and seemed like he didn’t get along with the coaches in Denver, so maybe the trade was a little questionable at the time.
In his first season in 2009, Cutler threw for 3,666 yards, 27 touchdowns and 26 interceptions, while starting all 16 games. Ouch. It wasn’t the first year in Chicago many hoped for Cutler. The Bears went 7-9 and ended up missing the playoffs, and the Broncos ended up going 8-8 and also missing the playoffs. So you could call it a draw for both teams in the first year of the trade.
In 2010, it seemed like Cutler was a completely different quarterback, as he led the Bears to an 11-5 record, and they ended up winning the NFC North. In 15 games, Cutler threw for 3,274 yards, 23 touchdowns and 16 interceptions. That was a 10 interception drop-off that he had in 2009, which was a huge improvement.
Then in 2011, Cutler suffered an injury that cut short what was playing out to be a magical season when he broke his thumb against the Chargers. In 10 games, he threw for 13 touchdowns and 7 interceptions with a 7-3 record. Instead of a return trip to the playoffs, Chicago finished with an 8-8 record and were left wondering what could’ve been if Cutler had stayed healthy.
The Bears traded for Broncos receiver Brandon Marshall in 2012. Marshall and Cutler played together in Denver from 2006-2008, and they were reunited in Chicago.
Cutler ended up missing the ninth game in 2012 after getting hit hard during the Houston Texans game. The Bears ended up finishing 10-6 and still found a way to miss the playoffs. The 2012 season ended up being the last year for Lovie Smith as Bears head coach after nine years with the team, which included a Super Bowl appearance in 2006.
General manager Phil Emery quickly found a replacement for Smith, hiring offensive guru Marc Trestman in 2013. Trestman was a part of Steve Young and the 49ers’ success in the ’90s and he has won championships in the Canadian football league.
Cutler once again struggled with injury in 2013, where he only played in 11 games. He threw for 19 touchdowns and 12 interceptions while leading the Bears to a 5-6 record. Entering Week 17, the Bears and Packers matched up for the last game of the regular season, the Packers were 7-7-1 and the Bears had a record of 8-7. The Packers delivered a brutal 33-28 defeat, and the Bears missed the playoffs with an 8-8 record in Trestman’s first year as head coach.
In 2014, Cutler went 5-10 as the starter, he threw for 3,812 yards, 28 touchdowns and 18 interceptions. The Bears missed the playoffs with a 5-11 record. After only two seasons, Trestman would end up getting fired.
In 2015, changes were needed for this Bears’ team. They would find a new general manager in Ryan Pace, a new head coach in John Fox and Marshall and Martellus Bennet would leave the team.
In Cutler’s final two years with the Bears in 2015 and 2016, he started 20 games, throwing for 4,718 yards, 25 touchdowns and 16 interceptions. The Bears ended up missing the playoffs in Cutler’s last two years, with records of 6-10 in 2015 and 3-13 in 2016.
During the 2017 offseason, the Bears held the third overall pick in the NFL Draft, and Bears’ fans know how that turned out as Pace would trade up from the third overall pick to the second overall pick to draft Mitchell Trubisky. Still a questionable move to this day on why Pace traded so many future picks just to move up one spot.
Even before drafting Trubisky, Cutler’s career as a Bear came to an end. He spent eight seasons in Chicago, leading them to a 51-51 record as starter, throwing for 154 touchdowns and 109 interceptions. But during those eight years, the Bears only made the playoffs once.
Seeing Cutler play with guys like Matt Forte, Brandon Marshall, Alshon Jeffery, Devin Hester, and Johhny Knox, to name a few, was exciting.
Cutler was by far one of my favorite Bears. When the Bears traded for Cutler, how did you feel? Did you like the trade? What was your favorite moment?
