Without an NFL caliber starting quarterback currently on the roster, rumors about who the San Francisco 49ers might target as their next signal caller have been swirling since well before John Lynch was named the team’s new general manager.
Lynch’s hiring has thrown some new names into the mix, however, most notable of which is Bears quarterback Jay Cutler. Per Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, Lynch has been effusive with his praise of Cutler over the years, going so far as to call him a generational type talent and someone he considers a friend.
“I like Jay, he’s a friend of mine,” Lynch said during a radio interview in 2009. “He had some growing up to do, probably still has some growing up to do. But in saying that, I think the Broncos erred in letting him go.
“This is a guy, in my mind, that’s a once-in-every-15-year-type talent. He’s got that kind of skill. I think he’ll grow into the other things. I sometimes think during this whole ordeal, they tried to paint him as a bad guy, but he’s not a bad guy at all. He’s got some growing up to do, but hopefully he learned something from this whole ordeal and offseason.”
Cutler is under contract through 2020, but has no more guaranteed money left on his deal, and the Bears could cut or trade him right now and incur only a $2 million cap hit. Many analysts expect the team to do so.
“I think they will probably find a new (quarterback),” former Bears cornerback and current Fox analyst Charles Tillman told the Chicago Tribune. “The writing is on the wall. They might have to part ways. Eight years is a long time. … He probably knows that. They probably know that.”
“Woo,” Jimmy Johnson said when asked about Cutler. “The Bears? Cutler has had a lot of opportunities with a lot of coaches. And there is a reason why he’s had a lot of different opportunities with a lot of different coaches. He hasn’t been successful with any of them. He is a very talented individual but for some reason they haven’t been able to get over the hump.
“I would say time for a new guy.”
Kirk Cousins is the other name that has be floated around as a 49ers target, based largely on his connection with the 49ers’ presumptive head coach Kyle Shanahan, who was his offensive coordinator in Washington. Cousins is slated to become an unrestricted free agent, but has said that’d he’d be willing to sign a franchise tag to stay in Washington next season.