Jay Cutler enters his eighth season with the Bears with expectations of bouncing back from the team's dismal 6-10 record a year ago.
And while Alshon Jeffery returns as Cutler's top target, general manager Ryan Pace continued to clean house by releasing running back Matt Forte and trading tight end Martellus Bennett to the Patriots.
The Bears will get wide receiver Kevin White back after he missed his entire rookie season with a stress fracture in his left leg. The Bears also spent three draft picks on offensive players, including guard Cody Whitehair in the second round.
Cutler will use those weapons with new offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains after Adam Gase took the head coaching job in Miami.
So where do Cutler and the Bears' quarterback situation stand in the NFL? Rotoworld's Patrick Daugherty ranked all 32 teams based on current production, as well as age and injury history, and though the Bears improved it wasn't by much.
21. Bears, Jay Cutler
Last Year’s Ranking: 22Jay Cutler is coming off the cleanest season of his career, but the man responsible, OC Adam Gase, has packed up and left for South Beach. Security blankets Matt Forte and Martellus Bennett are gone, as well, stripping Cutler of much of the armor that fortified him against his disastrous 2014. Now 33, Cutler hasn’t appeared in all 16 games since 2009. On the bright side, 2015 first-rounder Kevin White is healthy after missing his entire rookie campaign, and Cutler’s coaching buddy Dowell Loggains is replacing Gase. Cutler showed last season that he still has good football left in the tank, but with his guaranteed money out after 2016, he is very much a year-to-year proposition for a team in rebuilding mode.
The Seahawks and Russell Wilson ranked first on the list, followed by Aaron Rodgers and the Packers, the Panthers, the Colts and the Steelers.
NFL
Surprisingly, the Detroit Lions and Matthew Stafford ranked 11th on the list following a 7-9 season. Just as surprising, Teddy Bridgewater and the NFC champion Vikings ranked 24th, behind Cutler and the Bears. Bridgewater didn't explode in his second pro season but still managed to throw for 3,200 yards and 14 touchdowns while leading the Vikings to an 11-5 record.