Jay Cutler

Fantasy Upside
Jay Cutler may have lost a few receiving options, like Matt Forte and Martellus Bennett, but that shouldn’t be a major concern. Jeremy Langford should replace Forte in the backfield, as we already saw last season, and Zach Miller looked fine at the end of last season as well. Plus, Cutler gains last year’s first-round wideout Kevin White, who will return from his season-long injury. He also will hopefully have receiver Alshon Jeffery healthy for the season. The star wideout only played in nine games in 2015, and was playing hurt for most of them.

Despite a hobbled Jeffery, and most of his receiving options missing games as well, Cutler was able to reduce his interceptions and finished with the highest quarterback rating (92.3) of his career in 2015.

Fantasy Downside
There’s not a whole lot to get excited about with Cutler this season. Even though his quarterback rating was higher last season, his passing yards, attempts and touchdowns were all lower. He’s also starting to reach the age (33) where we begin to see a decline in quarterback’s production.

To make matters worse, the Bears’ offensive line has a lot of question marks. They lost three linemen to free agency, and added rookie Cody Whitehair and former Cardinal Bobby Massie. Pro Football Focus ranked the Bears’ o-line 30th out of 32 teams as a projection for the upcoming season.

Bottom Line
There’s not much doubt the Bears believe in Cutler and will start him as long as he remains healthy. But there are just so many other quarterbacks with more promise. We’re not saying he’s the worst option available, but he’s nothing more than a backup option.

Week 16 at Tampa Bay

Jay Cutler has back-to-back two touchdown games heading into Week 16, and he'll look to continue that momentum against Tampa Bay. The Bucs are a favorable matchup for Cutler, especially considering they allowed Case Keenum to be efficient a week ago.

He's not the most desirable option this week, but Cutler isn't a terrible play. He may fail to put up big numbers simply because Matt Forte and Jeremy Langford may do most of the damage in Chicago's offense on the ground. Cutler should be viewed as a QB2 option this week.

Week 14 vs. Washington

Jay Cutler has struggled in recent weeks, partly because his only real receiving threat has been Alshon Jeffery. In his last three games, Cutler is averaging about 220 yards and has a combined 1-2 TD-to-INT ratio.

He doesn't exactly get an easy matchup this week, either. Washington has kept QBs in check for the most part, only allowing one 300-yard passing game. Cutler isn't a terrible option this week, but there are certainly better players at his position.