Chicago Bears Re-Sign QB Josh McCown as Insurance
By Josh Hill
The Chicago Bears suffered two losses on Sunday night: one was obviously the game, but the other was quarterback Jay Cutler who suffered a concussion at he end of the first half. Love him or hate him, Cutler helps keep whatever sort of an offense the Bears have together, and although he gets blasted for being overrated (and a wee bit of a douchebag), he’s not the worst option the Bears can put put there under center.
Chicago fans are set to learn just how much they need Jay Cutler as the Bears move forward next week in a matchup against the San Francisco 49ers. It will be touted as a matchup of two of the best defenses in the NFL, but the subplot to it all will be if Jay Cutler plays and how well whoever replaces him fares.
Right now the guy who would replace him is Jason Campbell who did a lot less than impress Bears fans on Sunday night with a mediocre performance in relief of Cutler. So as insurance, the Bears have brought back quarterback Josh McCown to take over incase Campbell struggles or also goes down with an injury.
McCown was on the Bears 53-man roster up until the final preseason game against the Browns when the team cut him after his performance. In that game McCown went 20-for-29 for 157 yards and two touchdowns but the Bears elected to head into the season with two quarterbacks in Cutler and their offseason acquisition Campbell.
This sort of scenario is exactly why the Bears brought in Campbell, who spent last season with the Raiders but a majority of his career trying to make something happen with the Washington Redskins. McCown is coming back simply as insurance as the Bears are not confident in putting rookie Matt Blanchard behind Campbell on the gameday depth chart.
There’s no saying Cutler won’t pass the brain test he has to take to clear him for contact, but the Bears are now 7-2 and are staring down the very real possibility of becoming 7-3 and dropping two straight games after a hot start.
So you can understand why they’re covering their bases.