Bears excited for Jay Cutler; Dolphins getting 'hell of a quarterback'

Bears excited for Jay Cutler; Dolphins getting ‘hell of a quarterback’

By Patrick Finley

Jay Cutler signed with the Dolphins on Monday. (AP)

BOURBONNAIS — Jay Cutler texted Zach Miller the news.

“I’m doing it,” he wrote.

The Bears tight end couldn’t help but smile.

“I texted him, ‘I’m ear-to-ear, man,’ ” he said.

For whatever shortcomings Cutler displayed in his eight-year stint with the Bears, the franchise seemed happy for him Monday, when the Dolphins officially announced their new quarterback.

Cutler had planned to call games for Fox Sports after saying in May that he was retiring. The Bears cut him in March, four months removed from surgery on the labrum in his throwing shoulder in December. He drew little interest from teams in need of a starter, save for a brief flirtation with the Jets.

Circumstances changed, though, when Dolphins starter Ryan Tannehill hurt his knee last week.

“I’m excited,” center Hroniss Grasu said. “For him, personally, I hope he goes out there and absolutely kills it.

“I was real excited for him to take that job with Fox because I wanted people to really know the real Jay. . . . He’s excited, and I’m really looking forward to watching them play.”

Grasu said he’d just laugh at criticism of Cutler’s leadership.

“One of the best leaders I’ve ever been around,” he said. “He’s the type of guy that, he makes me want to run through a wall for him.”

Cutler’s playbook will look similar. Dolphins coach Adam Gase was the Bears’ offensive coordinator in 2015, perhaps Cutler’s best pro season.

“He’s familiar with that offense,” coach John Fox said. “They’re very similar. There is carryover, for sure, and he’s a sharp guy.”

The Dolphins are “gonna get a hell of a quarterback,” Miller said. “Obviously, he and Adam had a great relationship with what they were doing. So hopefully he steps in and is ready to go, and they get a leader, a natural leader on their football team — and can win some games.”

Cutler threw 21 touchdown passes and 11 interceptions in 2015. The latter was the lowest total for a season in which he played more than 10 games.

“Adam gave him full rein and comfort to be himself and to be a leader and step up, be a little more vocal,” Miller said. “He connected in a different way with other players and other people than he did in the past. I think that’s why he played so well.”

His Bears replacement, Mike Glennon, said the signing seems like a good opportunity for Cutler. Glennon said he was casually interested in the signing as an NFL fan and nothing more, but he admitted that it was “kind of a big story here in Chicago.”

“It’s another opportunity — that’s all guys can ask for,” Fox said. “I know everybody here wishes him nothing but the best.”

Follow me on Twitter @patrickfinley.

Email: pfinley@suntimes.com