advertisement

Vikings waiving Moss stunned Cutler

Jay Cutler said he was surprised the Vikings waived Randy Moss on Tuesday, and he wasn't sure how the future Hall of Fame player and world-class diva would have fit in with the Bears.

“I think everyone was shocked with him being waived,” Cutler said. “I haven't been asked (about whether the Bears should sign him). I think it would be hard for anybody to come into the situation with our offense and learn it. But he is a very talented guy on the other hand. That is for those guys upstairs.”

What if those guys upstairs asked for Cutler's opinion?

“I don't think they will,” he said. “It's tough right now. We're getting ready for Buffalo. We've got enough to worry about.”

Since Cutler played for Mike Shanahan in Denver for three years, he was asked his reaction to the Redskins' coach benching starter Donovan McNabb in favor of Rex Grossman for the final two minutes of last week's loss to the Lions.

“It's surprising,” Cutler said. “Mike's been in it a long time. If he did it, he had his reasons. I'm sure we'll never find out what exactly those were.”

Among other reasons, Shanahan has said that McNabb's cardiovascular fitness wasn't good enough to operate the team's hurry-up, two-minute drill.

“You have to ask Donovan, (and see) if they've changed it from whenever I had it,” Cutler said. “When I had it, I didn't think it was the most physically exerting thing. Maybe it's changed.”

No, thanks: According to coach Lovie Smith, the Bears thought about Randy Moss, but not enough to put a waiver claim in on him.

“Every player that's available or becomes available we consider,” Smith said. “We've always said if someone's available, we will always look to see if there's a chance of them possibly helping our ballclub. But we feel pretty good about the guys we have here right now.”

But Smith said it was no knock on Moss.

“I don't have to pump up Randy Moss,” he said. “His name speaks for itself. He's one of the all-time great players to have played the game. He just plays with someone else. We're happy with our Bear receivers.”

All in the family: In his assessment of the Buffalo Bills' defense, Bears coach Lovie Smith made special mention of their secondary.

“On the back end, we keep hearing about this (Jairus) Byrd guy or somebody like that,” Smith said. “We have a hard time getting his name right. One of our coaches continues to talk about him. So we have to be conscious of him back there, too.”

As a rookie last year, Byrd, a safety, tied for the NFL lead with 9 interceptions. He is the son of Bears assistant defensive backs coach Gill Byrd, who played cornerback for the San Diego Chargers for 10 years, made the Pro Bowl twice, holds the team record with 42 career interceptions and led all NFL cornerbacks in interceptions for three straight seasons (1989-91).

Injury update: Cornerback Zack Bowman (foot) was the only player who did not practice Wednesday, although linebacker Lance Briggs (ankle) and guard Edwin Williams (back) were limited. Guard Roberto Garza (knee) had a full practice.