Imrem: Cutler's easy exit says it all

There will be plenty of time this summer to critique Jay Cutler's move into his next career.

For now, his eight seasons as Bears starting quarterback beg for closure that consists of more than a joyous adios and a parade circling Soldier Field.

First: The NFL confirmed that Cutler isn't as valuable around the league as the Bears professed he was during his eight frustrating seasons here.

Second: Cutler symbolized his lack of true passion for playing football by not taking a knee to beg for a quarterbacking job somewhere.

The suspicion always was that playing football was Cutler's job more than his calling.

Last week, Cutler, often at once a befuddled and befuddling quarterback, left the field behind for a television booth.

This isn't some old, decrepit, used-up football player who has no option but to experiment with a second act.

Cutler is 34 years old. Some quarterbacks call that their prime. Some call it the golden years of their glorious careers. Some call it the twilight of their mediocre careers.

Few call it quits.

You read that right: Jay Cutler didn't retire so much as quit.

Some believe that the guy didn't have a team to keep playing for, but was that really the case considering that any healthy cockatoo can find a job at backup quarterback in the NFL with the hope of rising to starter?

(Except for Colin Kaepernick, of course.)

Cutler had to be willing to compromise his pride and become a backup on a bad team for a veteran's minimum salary.

After Cutler's agent recently revealed that his client wanted to continue playing, it was the quarterback's responsibility to crusade for the privilege of prolonging his career.

Instead, Cutler retreated to TV, which tells you something about the QB you watched with the Bears since 2009.

Cutler can't be so toxic that no NFL team wanted him … could he be?

(OK, so the Broncos seemed like a team that needs a Cutler except that, yes, he is toxic out there due to his first stay in Denver.)

Look, Peyton Manning risked serious bodily damage by returning to play after neck surgery and was rewarded with a Super Bowl victory just months before turning 40.

Tom Brady won his fifth Super Bowl with the Patriots in January at age 39 and wants to play into his mid-40s, if not his mid-50s.

Drew Brees, 38, is clinging to his job as starting quarterback with the Saints and gives no indication he won't play as long as possible.

Manning kept playing and Brady and Brees keep playing for a reason that has nothing to do with finances.

The great ones have a passion for football and getting out will require someone tearing their jerseys off their backs.

Jay Cutler's No. 6?

Perhaps by now it was laundered, neatly folded and tucked into the bottom drawer of a cabinet in the basement of his Nashville home ... unless reality-TV wife Kristin posted it on eBay to distance herself from the memories of her husband's playing days.

The only sad aspect of this is seeing an athlete with so much physical ability depart without being obsessed enough to fulfill his potential.

If Jay Cutler never returns as an NFL quarterback, we'll be left to wonder what might have been if he had a true passion for playing the game.

mimrem@dailyherald.com