Jay Cutler said Wednesday that his 2011 season could possibly be done depending upon the rehab and recovery process with his surgically repaired right thumb.
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The reason involves more than just this season.
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If the thumb, which now has screws and pins in place, is not healed beyond any true chance of a second injury, ?there?s a chance of fracturing it again and at that point it would have to be fused together,? Cutler said. ?Which isn?t ideal but I?d still be able to play.
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?I want to avoid being ?fused,?? he added with a smile.
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Until the exact state of recovery is established beyond all doubt, Cutler taking the field before a playoff game makes less than zero sense.
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The Carimi case
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Lovie Smith said after the injury and surgery that doctors have in fact given him a timetable for Cutler and ?I'm going to stand by my comments that I made,? he said.
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?Until someone tells me he's not, we're going along like he will be able to come back. And nothing has said otherwise. Surgery went well, he's back here, you guys got a chance to see him, I still expect and hopeful Jay will be able to come back at the end of the year.?
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The injuries are different but Smith?s comments have an echo of ones made after rookie tackle Gabe Carimi underwent ?minor? (emphasis added by Smith) knee surgery after weeks out following the New Orleans game. Smith was not lying; the surgery was minor and the Bears did expect and hope Carimi would be back.
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Then Carimi went on injured reserve.
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Minnesota return? Why?
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One return target is the Jan. 1 Minnesota Vikings game. That will be the end of the regular season, by which time the Bears should be 10-5 by virtue of wins over Kansas City, Denver (even with Tim Tebow and Von Miller) and Seattle.
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The Bears could need the victory to assure a wild card. But if they cannot beat the Vikings with Caleb Hanie or Josh McCown, then they do not belong in the playoffs anyway.
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But will the Bears risk giving Jared Allen, Brian Robison and Kevin Williams a chance to re-fracture Cutler?s thumb on an artificial turf surface?
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Because fusing his throwing thumb is not projected to make Cutler a better quarterback. And he clearly and wisely is taking the long view, as coach Lovie Smith also is going to do with a franchise player.
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?I just have to be smart about it,? Cutler said. ?I have to realize there is a long-term picture here.?
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The Hanie variable
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The Bears can reach the postseason with an inexperienced quarterback and a very good defense. They did that in 2005.
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The upshot of Caleb Hanie playing superbly, as he did in Sunday?s second half, will be both a supreme payoff in 2012 free agency and no need for Cutler to play until at least the first playoff game.
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And if Hanie is playing at a playoff level, perhaps coaches don?t tamper with a winning chemistry and hold Cutler and his thumb in reserve.
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Indeed, as Jim McMahon once did in epic fashion (see 1985, Minnesota Vikings), an injured starting quarterback coming off a bench can be the stuff of history.
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