Lovie Smith just took the podium for a press conference to address the injured thumb of Bears QB Jay Cutler. Immediately Lovie Smith addressed the adversity the Bears had faced this season after starting 2-3 on their way to a 7-3 record. Smith announced that Cutler is out for an extended period of time. The organization plans to schedule surgery on Cutler’s thumb as soon as possible.
The plan is to get Cutler back at the end of the regular season. Given the general timeframe of an injury of this magnitude, the Bears could use the Week 17 match-up against the Vikings as a tune-up game for Cutler on January 1st. Caleb Hanie was announced as the starting QB. Backing him is currently rookie Nathan Enderle but the Bears plan to sign a veteran Quarterback to back Hanie up for an emergency situation
Martz has dealt with losing a Quarterback in his system before, such as in 1999 when Trent Green got injured. He was replaced by a guy you may have heard of, Kurt Warner.
Longsnapper Patrick Mannelly was also announced as having a Torn ACL. Mannelly has officially been placed on Injured Reserve.