Cutler advises Bears to sit Trubisky if 2017 season starts poorly
Jay Cutler knows a thing or two about bad starts in Chicago - and he doesn't want to see the next franchise quarterback have the same struggles.
In a rather candid interview with ESPN 1000's "Waddle and Silvy Show" on Friday that should bode well for his broadcasting career, Cutler advised his former club to be patient with second overall pick Mitchell Trubisky as they continue their rebuilding process.
"If it's going downhill, there is no way I'm playing him," Cutler said, according to ESPN's Jeff Dickerson. "For what? So he can go out there and take a beating and get off to a rough start as an NFL quarterback?"
The Chicago Bears are coming off their worst season of the 16-game regular-season era and have made several changes to their roster this offseason - most notably at quarterback.
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Trubisky won't have to start right away with veteran Mike Glennon on the roster too. Cutler isn't sure what type of start will be in store for the Bears. He doesn't consider starting Trubisky in Week 1 to be out of the question, though he's recommending caution.
"I don't think any of us will know where the Bears are until we see four, five, or six games and kind of feel out how the season is going to go," Cutler said. "If it's going downhill, I really don't see any reason to play the kid.
"I'm sure there's going to be a lot of people calling for his name because you draft him at No. 2 and you draft him for a reason and that's to play football and win games."
Cutler may be advising this path because that's how he came into the league. He sat through the first 12 weeks of the 2006 season before playing the last five games with the Denver Broncos. However, he notes there are a few differences between the situations.
"I feel like my situation is different than his," Cutler said. "I was on a very veteran team. (Broncos head coach) Mike Shanahan was offensive-driven and everything he did centered around the quarterback.
"That team was built a little different than the Bears are."