adam

You can't say that, the last 2 years he has had Forte, Marshall, and Jeffery. Then added Bennett at TE this year. Other QB's have done more with less.

On the defensive side, I would be happy with Byrd or Ward at Safety and Bennett on the line for free agents, then draft 3 who can contribute.

Frazier hired as DC. TB is going to have a really good defense.

To me, it is an organization with historically bad QB play and lack of continuity not wanting to continue that trend. The head shed must believe that this is better than McCown or a rookie, but with the cap hit, the Bears could've signed McCown, and possibly acquired Byrd, Michael Bennett, and Alex Mack for the same cap hit as Cutler. So Cutler, Conte, Peppers, Garza, or McCown, Byrd, Bennett, Mack. Now assuming McCown would be signed either way, it is essentially Cutler vs Byrd, Bennett, and Mack. All 3 of those players would be huge upgrades over the current players and McCown would be a slight downgrade or upgrade, depending on who you ask. Regardless of McCown's play, there is no way Cutler will outplay the value of Byrd, Bennett, and Mack, ever.

Thanks for posting. To me it is still a head scratcher. I understand them taking one bigger hit to allow some flexibility in other years of the contract, and year's 2, 3, and 4 are favorable, but damn, $22.5 million? The highest cap hit of any player in the NFL next year? To me, that is just too much. Why not add 500k to every other year and reduce Year 1 by $3 mil? We have to trust the GM, but man, this has the chance to completely blow up in our faces. I don't mind re-signing Jay but this first year cap hit is just too much.

I would say Bowman, Collins, Melton, McCown Wootton, and Scott should be added. Wright if the price is wright.

I really don't know how Eddie freaking Lacy makes the All-Pro team but Forte doesn't? That is a load of crap and makes me dislike GB even more. I hate even thinking this but if Lacy, Rodgers, Nelson, Cobb, or Jones tears an ACL this weekend, I won't feel sorry for any of them. Then Marshall and Jeffery both getting jipped as well. One of them should've made it. I thought Jeffery had a shot since he was neck and neck with Gordon for most of the season. They probably cancelled themselves out, but D. Thomas made it with Decker and Welker. In the end, we had no national support this year (what's new).

The original values are correct, the 2nd set was bogus and more like what someone believed was a better deal. In the end, ever paying Jay Cutler over $20 million in a single season is just plain ridiculous. He has not earned it and based on his historical performance, he never will. Just think about it for a second, would you ever expect Jay Cutler to receive a contract that makes him the highest paid QB in a given season? The highest one!!! Also, right now he is the highest cap hit of any player in the NFL, #1, first, the biggest cap hit, the highest percentage of a team's payroll, Jay Cutler. Someone please justify that. Please...... http://www.spotrac.com/rankings/nfl/2014/cap-hit/limit-25/

Rotoworld has: Again, that is the same as the original posting, and if that is the case, I do not like it at all. He would literally be the highest paid QB in the league next year (based on cap hit): http://overthecap.com/top-player-salaries-...B&Year=2014 which makes me want to vomit. To me, if this is indeed true, and the $22.5 million is accurate, this is a horrible move. There was no need to front load the contract that much over the franchise tag, and handcuff the team in terms of salary cap flexibility when there were numerous alternative plans (which I know most did not like, ie sign McCown, draft WB high, use money elsewhere; use franchise tag).

First 5 years of deal average 16.25, basically the current tag amount for the real part of the deal. This is not bad at all and really helps the cap over the next 2 to 3 years. The only issue is this becomes a 5 yr deal vs a 3 yr deal.

I thought Peppers could be cut after June 1st and then the dead money could be applied to multiple years of the cap to lessen the blow this year. That may be the best option.

This is completely different and if correct is exactly what almost everyone was asking for. It just seems odd because no values equal exactly $54 million. If this is accurate, then those first 3 years are very cap friendly and make more sense based on his performance.

Well the 2nd and 3rd year are better but 22.5 is way too high for any year of the deal. We have so many needs that this is going to prevent someone from being signed.

What a garbage deal for a somewhat unproven commodity. 22.5? That is like 6 over the tag. The best part of the deal is years 4 and 5, but I assume if he performs they will renegotiate anyway. So this is essentially a 3 yr deal with a 22.5 first year cap hit. That hit is so much higher than last year that there is no way Peppers comes back at that number.

The cap hit will be the key, if it is over the franchise tag, I don't like the deal. If it is lower, then it won't be as bad.

Now let's extend BM, Alshon, and Forte and keep this core together for the next 5 years.

General consensus is the deal is not good. Funny seeing comments like "Packers clinch Division for next 7 years" and that other teams like this deal because it makes their defenses better. For the money, if it comes out to $18 million, I believe we over paid. Now this will be highly dependent on his performance during the contract.

Ok you got me, any franchise QB being paid $18 million a year.

I feel like it is a little over valued, which is odd if the Bears have the best assessment on his value. The speed of the deal seems like the Cutler camp was happy with the deal too. For next season we can finally say no excuses. 2nd year in system, OLine continuity, and a bunch of all pro level skill players. Almost any QB should be able to put up huge numbers and wins in that scenario.

Emery and Trestman are now tied to Cutler.

First 3 years of Cutler deal averages $18 on initial reports. Seems a little high for me but at least it is done and the Bears know what they have to work with.

HOME NO, TB, DAL, BUF, MIA AWAY ATL, CAR, SF, NE, NYJ To me this looks like an incredibly difficult schedule. It seems like almost all our opponents have good defenses. TB has a good Defense and will have Lovie. NO and DAL are rematches. BUF and MIA are tough. CAR, SF, and NE will be brutal. ATL was bad but played good late and is always good at home. NYJ has a good Defense and is tough at home. I don't see any easy games. We obviously have to get better in the division, but either way it is hard for me to see us winning more than 10 games at best.

I don't remember seeing Bostic or Greene at all.

GB had allowed 38, 36, and 40 in 3 of their last 4 games, but we could only muster 28. Just like McCown's stats in the Minnesota game, they were hollow. Yeah, he put up decent numbers and a good QBR, but there were very few sustained drives. We never seemed to take advantage of good field position or a turnover. This was not always Jay's fault, but as the QB, he is partly responsible for the offensive rhythm. Ever since Cutler came back, the offensive never looked as fluid as it did with McCown. Just my observation. It doesn't mean McCown is better, but the offense flowed. The only drive we had in the 4th was the dagger, we needed at least a FG, and we punted. He could have put them away (just like most QB's do). That would've made at least a 4 pt game and GB would've needed a TD to win - and even if they scored, another FG would've won it or tied it for us. An epic loss, one of the worst in a long time. Also, Orton goes for 350+ on the same Philly Defense we played last week.

4-12 Defense? Try 2-14. This was the worst run defense in over 50 years in the entire NFL, just think how bad some defenses have been, but none were worse against the run than us this year. The only reason we weren't last in passing defense was because it was so easy to run on us, why pass? We allowed 478 pts, 2 less than Minnesota for dead last. Seattle, for perspective, allowed half as many points as us. We also finished dead last in sacks, and the Buffalo freakin Bills had twice as many sacks as us. It was easily the worst Bears defensive unit, ever. We never held a team under 20, once!!! 7 opponents scored over 30, with 4 of them over 40. Historically brutal defense that needs to be completely blown up.