Imrem: At 33, Chicago Bears' Cutler might not make it to 34

Jay Cutler doesn't appear destined to be another Peyton Manning, Tom Brady or Drew Brees.

Manning finally retired after last season at 39. Brady intends to play well beyond 40. At 37, Brees recently requested a four-year contract.

Could 40 really be the new 30 for NFL quarterbacks?

Cutler is 33 years old and looked during Sunday's 23-14 Chicago Bears loss at Houston like he'd be fortunate to make it to next week.

Speaking of next week, the Bears are scheduled to play Eagles rookie quarterback Carson Wentz. Cowboys QB Dak Prescott will be the opponent in Week 3.

Those two young guys surely expect to be playing well into their 50s, maybe 60s.

Jay Cutler?

My goodness, it wouldn't be surprising if the Bears quarterback announced his retirement before practice Wednesday.

Nobody could blame him considering his current circumstances.

For a while now the fear for the Bears was that Cutler will keep playing on and on and on. Now the fear for him is that he will.

Cutler has his money and reality-TV-star wife. About the only thing left for him to achieve in football is a thoroughly broken body.

OK, so there also are invitations to the Pro Bowl, a Super Bowl appearance and perhaps even a championship.

Ask yourself this, though: Do any of those appear to be imminent for Cutler? Especially if he remains with the Bears? Even if he's still in one piece for a while?

No quarterback approaching his mid-30s should be embedded in the rebuilding project that the Bears have embarked upon.

Two of the biggest plays at Houston involved Cutler and teammates in their first NFL game.

The first involved a botched snap between Cutler and rookie center Cody Whitehair on a fourth-and-1 play.

"We gotta get that (exchange) down," Cutler said, "and not put it on the ground."

The second play involved a miscommunication between Cutler and wideout Kevin White that resulted in an interception.

"Just poor execution," Bears head coach John Fox said. "I don't want to get into the blame game, but it wasn't very well executed."

Manning, Brady and Brees would have retired sooner than later if stuck in Cutler's predicament. Wentz and Prescott would be taking courses in used-car salesmanship.

During Cutler's first seven seasons with the Bears, there were spasms when others weren't on the same page with him.

In this season's opener, Whitehair and White suffered spasms when they weren't in the same chapter as Cutler.

This is Cutler's latest reason - excuse? - for not reaching what has been considered for a decade to be his potential.

Weak offensive lines … frequent turnover of offensive coordinators … jokers to the left of him, clowns to the right …

Cutler didn't play great in the season opener, but maybe this time he could gripe if he were inclined to do so.

Bears offensive linemen still were looking for their place in line as Cutler was being battered in the second half.

"We can't be helping (Cutler) off the ground like that," guard Kyle Long said. "We should be patting him on the butt after touchdown passes."

Cutler's protection, along with the Bears, should improve as the season proceeds.

If if it doesn't, he won't make it to 34 years old, much less the new 30.

mimrem@dailyherald.com