Bears’ Cutler Ready For Return To Action

Added on Jun 27, 2011 by Jack Thurman in

NFL

Chicago Bears’ quarterback Jay Cutler suffered a knee injury in the NFC Championship game, but according to tight end Greg Olson he looks ready to play. Cutler has been leading informal workouts for the Bears’ players while the NFL labor dispute continues. According to Olsen, Cutler looks physically ready to play:

“I am not a doctor [but] yeah, he looks fine. He looks completely normal to all of us. I think he feels fine so I don’t think there is any lingering effects from anything.”

Although no future workouts are scheduled, Olson says that the Cutler-led sessions have been helpful as the offense tries to further assimiliate the Mike Martz system:

“It’s a little unfortunate because in normal years we would have gotten a lot of work between all the OTAs, all the minicamps, just the regular days out on the field. We would have gotten a lot accomplished and learned a lot from last season, but we didn’t so that’s the hand we were dealt, and we have to play a little catchup as far as with the coaches once training camp opens. But as players there is a lot we can do to prepare for the season.”

Olson thinks that the Bears’ offense could be the foundation of the team’s success this season:

“For awhile here we’ve been the stepchild. The offense has always played second fiddle, deservingly so because we’ve had some of the top defenses and top defensive players in league history. But we feel like we have a good core nucleus of young offensive players and Jay being right up there as the guy. With Matt [Forte] and our receivers, Earl [Bennett], Johnny [Knox] and Devin [Hester], I think we’ve got a lot of guys who are ready to have a little bit of consistency.”

Cutler was diagnosed with a sprain of his medial collateral ligament and surgery was not required. He’s rehabbed the injury on his own during the lockout and at this point is expected to be the Bears’ starting quarterback once the labor situation gets dealt with and training camp and preseason play begins.