National Football League

Bears icon Urlacher: Cutler elite 'financially', not on field

Published Oct. 24, 2014 3:23 a.m. ET

foxsports

Former Chicago Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher thinks Jay Cutler is elite. But in a bad way.

Urlacher, who played with Cutler from 2009 through 2012, shot down the idea his former teammate is an elite quarterback, instead pointing to the signal caller's salary.

"Financially, he is one of the elite guys in the NFL. ... He just hasn't produced like an elite quarterback," Urlacher said Wednesday in an interview with 87.7 FM The Game.

Cutler signed a seven-year, $126.7 million contract earlier this year. His $22.5 million base salary this season is the highest of any quarterback in the NFL. And yes, I'm serious.

The Bears have been a disappointment so far this season. They're 3-4 despite their talented roster, and locker room disarray seemingly has compounded Chicago's issues. Cutler has underperformed, both as a quarterback and as a leader.

"You look at the Bradys, the Mannings, the Rodgers, the Brees, those guys win every year, even with no one around them," Urlacher said Wednesday. "(Aaron) Rodgers has no offensive line. He wins. (Tom) Brady has no receivers. He wins.

"And you look at Jay. He's got Brandon (Marshall), Alshon (Jeffery), Matt (Forte), this great offensive line, Martellus Bennett, and they can't seem to put it together, for some reason. I'm not sure if that's his fault, but for some reason, they just can't figure it out."

Urlacher's comments come on the heels of Bears general manager Phil Emery saying Tuesday he believes Cutler is elite because of his winning record as a starting quarterback.

Earlier this week, Marshall denied having a rift with Cutler, and on Thursday the QB downplayed it as well, saying that Marshall didn't call him out during his emotional rant following Sunday's loss to the Dolphins.

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