John Fox: Bears’ Jay Cutler has hamstring strain

SHARE John Fox: Bears’ Jay Cutler has hamstring strain
489331188_56271203.jpg

Bears quarterback Jay Cutler was injured Sunday. (Getty Images)

Bears quarterback Jay Cutler has a strained hamstring, coach John Fox said Monday.

“I think any time it’s not real severe I think it’s good news,” Fox said at Halas Hall. “We’ll just evaluate it going forward, we have game-planning tonight for Seattle and tomorrow and players are back in on Wednesday.”

Fox said it was “yet to be determined” who will start Sunday against the Seahawks, but a source later Monday confirmed that Jimmy Clausen will start for the Bears on Sunday. Clausen took over for Cutler on Sunday and struggled, but Bears think he could fare better with a full week of practice.

Cutler was injured Sunday when he tried to tackle Cardinals safety Tony Jefferson, who returned his interception 26 yards for a touchdown. He was stiff-armed into the ground, landing on and rolling over his right shoulder, but the team said he did not experience at upper-body injury.

Fox said he couldn’t predict whether Cutler would practice on Wednesday — “Is it going to be heads or tails on Sunday? I don’t know,” he said — but wouldn’t list practicing as a pre-requisite to start.

Cutler received tests on the hamstring Monday and attended team meetings in Halas Hall.

Fox said the team has yet to decide whether to add another quarterback. The Bears could also promote David Fales from the practice squad.

Speaking generally, hamstring injuries are “usually a pretty debilitating thing for a quarterback” because it makes it harder to transfer energy from the abdominal area when throwing, said Pietro Tonino, program director of Sports Medicine at Loyola University Medical Center.

Recovery times vary. The doctor, who does not treat Cutler, said details described by the team sounded like a “week to week” injury.

Follow me on Twitter @patrickfinley

Email: pfinley@suntimes.com

The Latest
Another federal judge in Chicago who also has dismissed gun cases based on the same Supreme Court ruling says the high court’s decision in what’s known as the Bruen case will “inevitably lead to more gun violence, more dead citizens and more devastated communities.”
The way inflation is measured masks certain costs that add to the prices that consumers pay every day. Not surprisingly, higher costs mean lower consumer confidence, no matter what Americans are told about an improving economy.
With Easter around the corner, chocolate makers and food businesses are feeling the impact of soaring global cocoa prices and it’s also hitting consumers.
Despite getting into foul trouble, which limited him to just six minutes in the second half, Shannon finished with 29 points, five rebounds and two assists.