Sports

Ex-Bears QB Jay Cutler Signs Fox Sports TV Deal

But the NFL veteran's move to the broadcast booth doesn't mean he's retired from playing.

CHICAGO, IL — Former Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler might not be suiting up for NFL games next season, but that doesn't mean he'll be hanging around the house with Kristin Cavallari and the kids on Sundays. Instead, he'll be working as a color commentator for Fox Sports, covering games for the network in three-broadcaster booth, ESPN reports.

Cutler is making the move to TV after the Bears released him in the offseason, and he was unable to find a role on another NFL team. The New York Jets and Houston Texans had shown some interest in signing Cutler before the draft, but he couldn't strike deals with either team, according to ESPN.

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Despite the apparent career change, Cutler won't say his playing days are over. There is a chance he could be signed during training camp or the regular season to fill in for a team's injured quarterback. Although the details of Cutler's Fox contract aren't known, other NFL players-turned-broadcasters have had deals allowing them to return to playing.


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"I don't know if retirement is the right word; I don't feel that anyone ever really retires from the NFL," Cutler told ESPN. "You are either forced to leave, or you lose the desire to do what's required to keep going. I'm in between those situations at this point in my life."

But if Cutler has played his final NFL game, he leaves behind an 11-year career, spending the majority of it with the Bears. And while fans would mostly describe his time in Chicago as one of squandered potential, punctuated by mounting injuries, postseason disappointment and a lack of confidence among teammates and coaches, Cutler still holds many of the franchise's passing records.

Fox's signing of Cutler makes him the second big-name QB this offseason to make the jump to the broadcast booth while arguably still having a season or two left of being an effective player. Former Dallas Cowboy QB Tony Romo joined CBS Sports in April after an injury sidelined him last season and he lost his starting job to rookie standout Dak Prescott.

As a color commentator for Fox's package of NFC contests, Cutler's new role could put him in the potentially awkward — or potentially enviable — position of calling Bears games and wondering if his former team is better off with free agent-signing Mike Glennon and/or first-round draft pick Mitchell Trubisky.

More via ESPN


Former Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler (photo via Patch archive)

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