Bears GM doesn’t want to use franchise tag on Jay Cutler
By Mike Dyce
Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler is heading towards free agency. The only think that would prevent him from hitting free agency would be a contract extension or the franchise tag. The latter isn’t an option that Bears general manager Phil Emery wants to use.
“With the franchise tag being so high for the quarterback position,” Emery wrote during a fan Q&A on the team’s official website, “to use it and not sign the individual to a long-term deal hurts the team because you lose the ability to prorate the amount of guaranteed salary over the length of the contract.
“Proration lowers the salary cap number in relation to that player’s contract. Obviously the lower the number in relation to the salary cap, the more players you can sign to help your team reach its goals.”
Some have speculated that Bears head coach and quarterback guru Marc Trestman might find someone more suitable to his style and someone that he can mold. Cutler has said that he wants to stay.
“I would like to stay in Chicago,” the quarterback said Monday on WMVP-AM’s “The Jay Cutler Show,” via CSN Chicago. “I’d be surprised if they kind of broke up the group that we have on offense. I want to stay here … The longer that we can stay together as a group, the better we’re gonna be.”