Bears quarterback Jay Cutler said he was “shocked at first, then disappointed” to lose his job, but he didn’t lose his sense of humor.
The local media descended to today’s press conference about his benching, after most of them missed his post-game remarks Monday.
“I’m glad you guys could make it,” Cutler said as he took the podium. “I missed you after the game.”
Jokes aside, Cutler made it clear he wasn’t expecting being benched for Jimmy Clausen, but said he thought he did have a future in Chicago.
Asked directly if he could play for coach Marc Trestman again next year, Cutler replied: “Yes, . . . I think I could. I definitely could.”
A moment later, he said “I think we’d have to figure some things out in the offseason.”
He went on to call Trestman “a heck of a quarterback coach.”
But he also acknowledged that the contract he received last season made that complicated.
“There’s a lot of money in my contract,” he said. “And that comes with a lot of expectations.”
None of which he’s met this year, which is why he’s holding court in an unusual press conference. He admitted he might not have handled things well yesterday upon hearing the news, but he’s handling this press conference better than many in his career.