Chicago Bears Great Jay Cutler to Retire and Take Role as Fox Sports Analyst

Jay Cutler
Warner Todd Huston

Long time Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler has announced that he is retiring from football and is going to become a Fox football analyst.

It appeared that Cutler, who spent most of his 11-year NFL career with the Chicago Bears — he played only his first three years in Denver — was gearing up for at least one more season in the pros, but this week he has announced his quick decision to retire from the gridiron.

Cutler will join Fox analysts Kevin Burkhardt and Charles Davis in the booth, according to Fox reporter Peter Schrager.

“We’re thrilled to welcome Jay to the Fox Sports family,” Fox Sports president of production John Entz said in a statement. “We’re very excited about the potential he brings to the booth and are looking forward to hearing his analysis during what is sure to be another great season of the NFL on Fox.”

It appears that Kevin Burkhardt will be responsible for the play-by-play, and Cutler and Charles Davis will provide color commentary and analysis.

The move might shock Bears fans, because by all appearances Cutler was preparing for the upcoming 2017 season. Only a week ago Cutler’s agent was insisting that Cutler had no intention of retiring and would be playing in 2017, NBC Sports reported.

Still, Cutler was released by the Bears in March after 8 seasons in the Windy City. Plainly, Fox offered a better deal than what any team may have offered, so Cutler put his pro career to bed.

The player released a statement of his own about his jump to the broadcast booth, saying that at this time he was right in the middle of being “forced to leave” the NFL and “losing the desire” to continue playing.

Cutler was a 2006 first-round pick by the Broncos but was traded to Chicago for the 2009 season. He was a 2008 Pro-Bowler, passed for 32,467 yards, threw 208 touchdowns, and 146 interceptions during his 11-year NFL career.

Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com.

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