John Fox seemed to have at least a shred of good news to share Monday afternoon at Halas Hall. The hamstring injury that Jay Cutler suffered late in the first half of Sunday’s blowout loss to the Cardinals was, in Fox’s words, “not real severe.”
Cutler’s hamstring was strained, Fox announced. And the next official progress report will come after the Bears’ next practice Wednesday in Lake Forest.
“We’ll just evaluate it going forward,” Fox promised.
Hours later, however, an ESPN report indicated Cutler will miss at least two weeks. Which means the 0-2 Bears seem increasingly likely to start Jimmy Clausen at quarterback on Sunday in Seattle against the two-time defending NFC champion Seahawks.
Per Fox’s philosophy, the Bears will attempt to keep a shroud of secrecy around Cutler’s status this week, believing it creates a competitive advantage. Yet no matter who starts at quarterback Sunday, the Bears will be a massive underdog, seemingly headed for their first winless September since 2003.
When asked whether Cutler had an MRI on Monday morning as part of his medical evaluation, Fox steered away from offering specifics.
“I’m not going to get into all the tests,” he said. “But that could have been one of them.”
Pressed on whether he thought Cutler would be able to practice Wednesday as the Bears elevate their preparation for the Seahawks, Fox shrugged.
“Is (the coin flip) going to be heads or tails on Sunday?” he asked. “I don’t know.”
Fox also had little patience for a question on how close Alshon Jeffery came to being ready for Sunday’s game against the Cardinals. Jeffery was declared inactive 90 minutes before kickoff with a hamstring injury.
“It’s a fairly black-and-white thing. Either he’s ready or he’s not,” Fox said. “So how close? I don’t know. He wasn’t able to play.”
As the Bears flip the page to Week 3, they find themselves in an uncomfortable predicament — winless, increasingly banged up and understandably unsettled.
And with yet another significant injury to track, they are now working through contingency plans at their most important position.
Fox asserted it wasn’t mandatory that Cutler practice on Wednesday in order to start Sunday. But the Bears would certainly hope to see their starting quarterback on the field later in the week before giving him a green light to play.
“You hate to individualize something,” Fox said. “I’ve seen guys not practice all week and play pretty good on Sundays.”
Cutler left Sunday’s loss 2 minutes, 59 seconds before halftime, his hamstring injury occurring as he attempted to tackle Cardinals safety Tony Jefferson after an interception. Jefferson stiff-armed Cutler to the ground, raced 26 yards to the end zone and the Bears quarterback left the field immediately after.
That left the offense in Clausen’s hands. And any rhythm the Bears established during first-half touchdown drives of 89 and 80 yards was interrupted.
On three first-half possessions with Clausen, the Bears netted 31 yards and picked up just two first downs, one coming via a third-down encroachment penalty.
And after the Bears created two takeaways inside the Cardinals’ 25, Clausen and the offense twice failed to move the chains, instead settling for field goals.
Things didn’t improve much after halftime with an early Clausen interception plus a trio of three-and-outs.
Said tight end Martellus Bennett: “There’s always a letdown when you lose your starting quarterback. That’s your guy, the guy everyone’s been working with all week, listening to in the huddle. So you want him to be out there with you. … We don’t catch a lot of balls from Jimmy during the week. We don’t run a lot of routes with him. So he has to get familiar with our timing.”
With Cutler’s status in doubt, the Bears may have more opportunities to work with Clausen this week. And the unrest of an 0-2 start will heighten the pressure.
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