Chicago Bears

Jay Cutler Set to Return vs Vikings

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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Jay Cutler is set to return to action next Monday night when the Chicago Bears face the Minnesota Vikings.

Love him or hate him, Jay Cutler is set to return to the Chicago Bears lineup next Monday night when the Bears play their next game, hosting the Minnesota Vikings. Cutler has been sidelined since Week 2, when he left the Eagles game with a thumb injury.

In Cutler’s absence, Brian Hoyer started a little bit of a quarterback controversy, because of course that’s what he do in Chicago. Despite piling up the yardage against inferior opponents, Hoyer only guided the Bears to one win. The controversy ended when Hoyer suffered a broken left arm in the first half against the Green Bay Packers.

With Cutler on the sidelines in street clothes, third-stringer Matt Barkley was pressed into action and the results were predictable – 6/15 for 81 yards with zero TD’s and two INT’s for a quarterback rating of 18.3. Barkley will serve as Cutler’s backup with Hoyer headed to Injured Reserve.

It’s odd that Cutler, who’s been sidelined since the middle of Game #2 against the Eagles, was suddenly cleared just in time for Hoyer to go to the IR. Head coach John Fox stoked the QB controversy when he failed to state Cutler as his starter:

“I don’t think there are any givens. And that’s no indictment on anybody,” Fox said when asked directly about Cutler.

“This is a day-to-day, week-to-week, what-have-you-done-for-me-lately league, and so we’re just trying to get the best 11 guys out there regardless of the position to where we can play a full 60 minutes and get a victory.”

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Do you think Cutler could have gone sooner but the Bears were riding Hoyer’s hot hand? I think it’s a fair question.

Cutler returns for a prime time date against one of the top defenses in the league. The Vikings allow the fewest yards per game in the league with just 279.5 YPG while their pass defense allows fewer than 200 yards per game. Their defense has recorded 19 sacks in just six games, good for top five ranking.

The Bears offense will have a different look since the last time he was under center. Starting guards Josh Sitton (leg) and Kyle Long (arm) could both miss the next game. Week 1 starting running back Jeremy Langford has missed the last few weeks as Jordan Howard and Ka’Deem Carey have stepped into the primary running back role. Kevin White was placed on IR while Cameron Meredith has emerged as a legitimate offense threat.

The Bears have had bad luck on Halloween night and I’m sure Cutler would rather be trick or treating with his kids rather than getting chased around by an angry Vikings defense coming off their first loss of the season. It could be a long night for Cutty and the Bears ahead of their Week 9 BYE.

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