Bears’ Cutler Has Thumb Surgery, Will Start Rehab Soon
Added on Nov 23, 2011 by Jack Thurman in
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Not all of the NFL quarterback injury news was of the ‘worst case scenario’ variety. The Chicago Bears feared the worst when quarterback Jay Cutler suffered a broken thumb last weekend but the diagnosis ended up not being as bad as it could have been. Cutler had thumb surgery today with his medical team saying that he’ll be able to begin rehab ‘soon’.
Bears’ coach Lovie Smith said that the plan is to get him back on the field near the end of the regular season:
“The plan is to get him back at the latter part of the regular season. This is what I wanted to know, ‘Was it a season-ending injury?’ No. From what I’ve been told right now, we can expect him back at the end of the regular season. For me, that’s enough to go on.”
Cutler had been having a very good year for Chicago and the Bears had rebounded from a slow start to win 5 straight games and improve to 7-3 on the season. For now, it’ll be up to backup–and interim starter–Caleb Hanie to maintain the momentum. Hanie says he’s ready to go, but he took the time to reach out to Cutler and make sure all was well:
“I reached out to him (on Tuesday), and just asked about his surgery and all that stuff to see if he’s OK. He’s all good. He’s in good spirits.”
“As any athlete who gets injured, it’s a bummer at the time but he’ll be back quick. I’m confident in it.”
The Bears have signed Josh McCown to back up Hanie in Cutler’s absence. Hanie is a Colorado State product who has performed relatively well in limited NFL action. The Bears are currently tied with the Detroit Lions in the NFC Central and are hoping to be in playoff contention when Cutler returns to action.
Up next for Chicago is a trip out West to play the enigmatic Oakland Raiders. The Bears are a +4 NFL betting underdog with the total set at 41′. This represents a significant line move from the opening price–posted before Cutler’s injury became known. The Bears opened a -1 point road favorite at that time with the total set at 45′.
