Bears GM, coach moving forward with Cutler

The obligatory vote of confidence for quarterback Jay Cutler finally came Wednesday at Halas Hall.

Both Bears general manager Ryan Pace and head coach John Fox pledged allegiance to the embattled quarterback as the team's starter, after both declined to do so last month at the NFL Scouting Combine.

"We made that decision," Pace said. "We went through a process of thoroughly evaluating the roster. We're moving forward with Jay Cutler as our starting quarterback."

Cutler led the NFL with 24 turnovers last season, including 18 interceptions, hardly commensurate with his $22 million salary cap hit. His 88.6 passer rating was the second best of his nine-year career, and his 28 TD passes also were a personal best.

The Bears will pay Cutler $15.5 million for this season. On Thursday, $6 million of next year's $16 million base salary for Cutler becomes guaranteed.

Pace said he and Fox know more about Cutler than they did a month ago.

"We've spent time with him on a personal basis," Pace said. "It's just getting to know him as a person. Just being through with all of that, that helped us come to this conclusion."

Although Cutler has never played up to expectations for a full season, Fox said he's confident the quarterback can improve, even though he'll be 32 next month.

"We made the commitment, (now) time will tell for all of us," Fox said. "I've watched Jay compete in the past. There's a talent level there that obviously we feel good enough to explore.

"If a guy will work at it, he can get better. If he'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 getting worse. What I saw and learned of (Cutler) is intelligence, he's willing to work at it, so I think he's capable of improving."

Pace also denied the Bears had shopped Cutler to other teams before the start of free agency.

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