If teammates keep falling, Jay Cutler is in for a long season

Scowling Jay Cutler is long gone, a victim, we’ve been told, of the quarterback’s increased maturity.

Could he be replaced by saucer-eyed Jay Cutler, a jittery quarterback without protection or healthy teammates? Training camp is starting to have that feel. At a minimum, Cutler has to be rolling his eyes these days.

Bears center Hroniss Grasu could be lost for the season after reportedly suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. That he did it in non-contact drills only adds to the sense that either somebody up there doesn’t like the Bears or that somebody up there is a Packers fan. The Bears’ offensive line already was a question. This adds an exclamation point to the question mark.

A spate of injuries to the offense should have wiped any last vestige of a smile off Cutler’s face. Wide receiver Alshon Jeffery, who can’t seem to stay healthy, is sidelined with a hamstring strain. Tight end Zach Miller and wide receiver Eddie Royal are out with concussions.

It’s only training camp, but once in awhile, injuries do a decent imitation of an epidemic. Concussions, strained hamstrings and torn ACLs aren’t contagious, but in sports, sometimes they act like they are. Cutler had better hope that’s not what this is. If it is, he’ll be in for a long, long season. He might find himself wearing the expression of someone in pain.