Rozner: With Cutler back, what could possibly go wrong?

There are worse things in the world than having Jay Cutler return as your starting quarterback.

It's just difficult to think of any at the moment.

Yes, to the surprise of almost no one, Cutler will be the Bears' quarterback again in 2015 and that will be at best entertaining - in an ugly sort of way - and at worst a disaster - in an uglier sort of way.

Having dumped Brandon Marshall − the proverbial addition by subtraction − many Bears fans were hoping a fresh start would include the removal of the quarterback.

No such luck.

Give the Bears' brass credit for trying to find a taker, but no one was crazy enough to absorb that contract, so they did the math and figured they might as well pay Cutler to play here instead of cutting him and paying him to play elsewhere.

But at least to this point, they have done nothing to enable or coddle him, saying all along they would evaluate the situation before making any kind of decision.

Translated, they would seek to move him and having failed to do so, they would deny ever having tried. Consequently, they would consider the financial implications before deciding whether to live with No. 6 for one more season.

"We went through a process of thoroughly evaluating the roster, and we're moving forward with Jay Cutler as our starting quarterback," GM Ryan Pace said a couple days ago. "Jay's our quarterback and that's what we're doing and that's what we're looking forward to."

Like you look forward to kidney stones. Sure, it'll be a blast.

"We've spent time with him on a personal basis, just getting to know him as a person," Pace said. "I think just being thorough with all that, it helped us come to this conclusion.

"He's a good football player. Going forward, we felt this was best for us, and quite frankly, it's the best situation for him."

The truth is it's not best for anyone, but the two sides are stuck with each other.

For now.

"We made the commitment. Time will tell for all of us," coach John Fox said. "We're not even on the grass yet.

"I watched Jay compete in the past. We gained a lot of information moving forward. I think there's a talent level there that obviously we feel good enough to explore."

Well, not exactly a ringing endorsement there. That wasn't even a vote a confidence and a far cry from the love Cutler received from the previous two coaches.

"I think the biggest thing for me is, is a guy willing to work? If a guy will work at it, he can get better," Fox said. "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. So what I saw and learned of him is intelligence. He's willing to work at it, so I think he's capable of improving."

Not what you want to hear about a guy who's been an NFL starter for nine seasons.

Is it realistic to think Cutler is going to change on the field or in the locker room? Is he going to stop throwing the ball to men wearing the wrong jersey? Is he suddenly going to be a great leader of men?

"It's hard to say," Fox said. "I haven't really seen him interact with his teammates yet. I think it's something that all of us can get better at on a daily basis, and we'll see where that goes going forward."

Yeah, what's the worst that can happen? What could possibly go wrong?

Well, Cutler could be Cutler, angry that the new guys didn't hug him and tell him how great he is. He could be disruptive in the locker room and even cause divisions among those still loyal to him and those who are ready to start anew. And he could pout and make everyone miserable when he has the game taken out of his hands.

Just imagine him moping back to the huddle after he gets yet another play call that demands a handoff, a dump-off or a give-up.

It's not that difficult to envision.

The Bears figured they had no other options, which isn't accurate. They could have moved on, even without a solid replacement. The cost was sunk and yet the brutal cap implications forced their hand.

But they weren't figuring to win the Super Bowl this year anyway, so a fresh start would have been worth it.

Maybe it will be fine. Maybe Cutler will be a model citizen. Maybe he'll throw to his guys this time around. Maybe he'll help his teammates rather than hinder. Maybe he'll become a leader. Maybe he'll do no harm as he tries to convince another team he has value.

Maybe he'll do all of these things for the first time in his career.

Maybe.

brozner@dailyherald.com

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