Jay Cutler Bids Farewell To Chicago Bears’ Organization
After asking for and receiving his release from the Chicago Bears on Thursday, Jay Cutler bid farewell to the organization.
The least surprising news of day 1 of the 2017 NFL Free Agency period for the Chicago Bears was the release of quarterback Jay Cutler.
With the Mike Glennon signing all but official, the Bears did the right thing and afforded Cutler the opportunity to find his next NFL team. Before doing so, Cutler took time out to bid farewell to the city of Chicago as well as the Bears’ organization.
Cutler released a statement through the Chicago Sun-Times:
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"“I would like to first thank the city of Chicago and its passionate fans for a memorable eight years. I grew up in Indiana rooting for the Bears as kid, so it was an honor to wear the Bears uniform and play quarterback at Soldier Field for my favorite childhood team.“I would like to thank Virginia, George and the rest of the McCaskey family for their support over my tenure in Chicago as well as Jerry Angelo, Phil Emery and Ryan Pace. It was a great experience to have played with such a great list of teammates during my time as a Bear. Also, I would like to thank all of the great employees of the Bears from the locker room to the front office.“Chicago is the city where I met my wonderful wife Kristin. I have been fortunate to have three beautiful children here. Our family will leave Chicago with great memories and relationships on and off the field. We look forward to the next chapter in our lives and wish the best to Bear fans everywhere.”"
Unfortunately over the course of the next few days, there will be a ton of hot takes formulated in regards to Cutler’s shortcomings with the Bears. While it is entirely fair to be critical for the lack of success that Cutler had on the football field with the Bears, it is unfair and completely wrong to be critical of how Cutler was off the field for the Bears.
Cutler was not a bad guy. By every account, Cutler was beloved leader within the Bears’ locker room. The issue is that fans would be misguided when they judged Cutler by what they would see during a three-second shot of him on the sideline.
Related Story: Chicago Bears release statement on Jay Cutler's departure
The Cutler experiment did not work for the Chicago Bears and it is no one side’s fault. The Bears were at fault due not providing Cutler with a strong support system and Cutler was at fault for his miscues on the field. But, after eight seasons, the time was right for both sides to move on. And that, I say, thank you Jay Cutler.