Cutler Set To Return To Practice As Marshall Declares: 'He's Back'
By Adam Hoge-
HALAS HALL (CBS) The Bears did not practice Wednesday, but if they had, Jay Cutler would have returned on a limited basis, according to head coach Marc Trestman.
The Bears quarterback has not been cleared to play Sunday against the Lions, but Trestman made it clear that if he is cleared, he will play.
"There is no gray area in this decision," the head coach said. "The doctors are either going to say he can play, and that means he can play without any sense that there's going to be … nobody can ever predict 100 percent and we wouldn't do that either, but certainly that the doctors feel that he would be ready to play, and play at full speed. If he is then he'll go. That's really it."
Trestman defined Cutler's hypothetical "limited" participation in practice Wednesday as "we would just see how he was doing." He said Cutler spent Tuesday's off day at Halas Hall rehabbing the groin injury he suffered against the Redskins Oct. 20 and stressed that the quarterback has been able to do more physically.
"He's been running around. He's been redirecting. He's been climbing the pocket. He's been doing all of that but we've got to be able to get the doctor's OK. We'll know a little bit more tomorrow," Trestman said."
Cutler will be evaluated in the morning to determine how much he'll be able to do in Thursday's practice, but Trestman said two days of practice would be enough for Cutler if he's able to play Sunday. The head coach also said he's hopeful that if Cutler is cleared to practice, that means he would play Sunday. So if Cutler is able to take the snaps with the offense Thursday, that's a good indication he'll be good to go against the Lions.
Sunday will mark three weeks since Cutler suffered the groin injury that the Bears originally said would keep him out "at least four weeks." It became evident after the Bears' bye week, however, that Cutler was ahead of schedule and pushing for an early return.
Bears wide receiver Brandon Marshall, who predicted Cutler would only be out two weeks and play against the Lions all along, wore a Jay Cutler t-shirt at Halas Hall Wednesday and declared: "He's back!"
"The prediction was right. I look like a genius right now," Marshall said. "If anything comes up throughout the week we'll probably have to adjust, but on a serious note, Jay's on the right track. I think he's going to try it this week. If he can go, he'll go, if he can't, I think he's going to make a very hard decision to rest it a little bit more. But he's definitely put himself in position to make it out there for Sunday."
If Cutler can't go, backup Josh McCown would start his second straight game. He has posted a 100.2 passer rating in two games since Cutler went down.
Adam Hoge covers the Bears for CBSChicago.com and is a frequent contributor to 670 The Score. Follow him on Twitter at @AdamHoge.
