Caleb

Hanie

ESPN Chicago reports Hanie will visit the Broncos on Wednesday, and Volek is already in Denver to meet with the club. A local product from Colorado State, Hanie was banished from Chicago after a disastrous four-game stint that took the Bears out of playoff contention last season. He’s not much of a “Plan B” for John Elway’s Broncos.

Hanie wrote his ticket out of town when he faceplanted in four late-season starts in place of Jay Cutler, effectively killing the Bears’ playoff chances. The Bears are expected to pursue a more high-profile insurance policy for Cutler.

“We need to get ourselves in a better position at the backup quarterback position,” Smith said. “We have a lot of options out there.” The Bears will be moving on from free agent Caleb Hanie, and they can do better than Josh McCown as the No. 2 QB.

Denver was Hanie’s lone free agent visit. While he’d flashed promise in preseasons past, Hanie went 0-4 in spot starts for the Bears last season and was benched for street free agent Josh McCown. The Broncos shouldn’t be done adding QB talent with Hanie and Adam Weber on the roster behind Peyton Manning. Look for a mid- to late-round pick on the position in April’s draft.

Vying with Tyler Palko as the worst quarterback to step on an NFL field last season, Hanie would be Peyton Manning’s backup. It’s an extremely odd choice considering Manning’s fragile health and the fact that the Bears doubled down on backups this offseason after being stung by Hanie’s terrifically poor play. The Broncos have splurged elsewhere in free agency, however, and must go cheap on what could be a highly critical roster spot.

Denver signed Caleb Hanie to a two-year contract on Saturday, but Dixon would give him much-needed competition for the No. 2 job behind Peyton Manning. Hanie is more of a pocket quarterback like Manning, while Dixon has the ability to make plays with his legs. Even if Dixon is signed, Denver could still look to draft a young arm in April’s draft.

The recovery time from this kind of surgery varies greatly, depending on how patients respond to the pins and screws in their thumb. “It could be that I’m done for the season,” Cutler said. “I don’t know. I just have to be smart about it. I have to realize there is a long-term picture here.”

OC Mike Martz had vowed to let Hanie be more aggressive today, but instead did just the opposite, reining his backup signal caller in after he came unglued against the Chiefs in Week 13. It worked like a charm for three quarters but proved disastrous in the fourth. Nursing a 10-0 lead, Hanie was asked to throw just once on Chicago’s final four drives. The conservative strategy failed to produce a first down, and let Tim Tebow guide Denver to another unbelievable comeback. Things won’t get easier against Seattle’s solid defense in Week 15.

Hanie flashed promise in previous preseason action and kept the chains moving in Chicago’s 2010 playoff loss to Green Bay, but he couldn’t have played worse in four late-season spot starts. Hanie isn’t going to draw much interest on the open market after turning the ball over nine times, taking 19 sacks, and losing all four games. He completed 51-of-102 passes in 2011.

Cutler did do some light throwing prior to Week 14, but he admitted he was “shot-putting” the ball more than throwing it. He still has pins in his hand. At this point, we’d still be surprised to see Cutler before Week 17. Players are usually overly optimistic about their status.