Former Chicago Bears GM Jerry Angelo weighs in on Jay Cutler extension

The Chicago Bears didn’t wait too long into the offseason to answer the franchise’s biggest question following Mark Trestman’s first season as head coach of the Bears when the club locked up quarterback Jay Cutler to a  seven-year extension worth up to $126 million.

Whenever a deal of this magnitude is signed and by such a polarizing player like Cutler there are bound to be a number of critics who rail against the years and/or dollar amount and a number of fans of the deal who believed the Bears had no choice but to lock up the all-time passing leader for the Bears.

Count former Bears general manager Jerry Angelo who also traded for Cutler among those who are in the camp of his successor Phil Emery who thinks this was a necessary move.

"Angelo wrote. “He got paid in line with the other quarterbacks that got paid recently. That’s the number. You either pay or you don’t. Don’t be fooled: Some other team would have given the same money or more, because there would have been a bidding war.“Teams like the Browns, Raiders, Buccaneers, Texans, Titans, Jaguars, Jets, Cardinals would have been potential suitors. The reality — what are your options? The value of what he does can’t be underscored. It’s rarer than a starting, 95 mph left-handed pitcher or a seven-foot center who can score.”"

For some Bears fans the thought that Angelo agrees with this move will give them validation that Cutler should not have been resigned, but he’s a Bear for at least the next three seasons where he has a guaranteed $54 million coming his way.