9 QB Options to Backup Jay Cutler in 2012

Once the Bears have a GM in place, one of his first tasks will be to solidify the backup QB spot for Chicago for next season.

While the Bears team will still be heavily dependent on the health of starting QB Jay Cutler, it is clear from what resulted in 2011 that the Bears desperately need a better option than Caleb Hanie if Cutler goes down again.

When Cutler got hurt, the Bears offense was rolling and the team was on its way to a Wild Card berth, at 7-3. They finished the season losing five of their six final games and a lot of that had to do with the play of the QB position.

Hanie was terrible, and though it wasn't all his fault, it isn't likely he will return. Josh McCown was better, and appears to be the most likely candidate to be back, but there are other options for the Bears to consider.

Who are the top candidates? Let's take a look.

Josh McCown

As stated earlier, McCown is the most likely candidate to back up Cutler in 2012. However, the small advantage he had of knowing the Mike Martz offense is no longer applicable now that Martz is gone.

He made some nice throws against Minnesota and led the Bears to their only win without Cutler.

McCown played better than Hanie in his two-game stint as Cutler's replacement, but did not play lights out. He should be evaluated along with the other candidates this offseason.

McCown completed 35-of-55 passes for 414 yards, a completion percentage of 63.6, which is good. However, he threw four picks to his two touchdowns, a trait that plagued Hanie as well.

Pressure seemed to bother McCown against the Vikings.

Against a basic front four defense, McCown was solid. However, he was sacked five times on his 15 dropbacks against five or more pass rushers and also tossed an interception with more pressure.

Keep in mind that McCown was a pretty lousy QB in his previous stint in the league, so his history isn't a selling point.

Kyle Orton

I would love to see Orton return to Chicago and be the veteran backup the Bears are seeking. And Chicago obviously had interest in him, claiming him as a free agent, though Kansas City was awarded the claim based on record at the time.

Though Orton is an unrestricted free agent, the Chiefs seem to want him back. Plus, I doubt he would want to be a backup if he feels he can compete for a starting job somewhere else.

I know Orton said he wanted to return to Chicago after being released by Denver, but that was largely because Cutler was hurt. With a healthy Cutler, Orton knows he will get no playing time.

Orton struggled in the last game of the season versus the Broncos, but was serviceable otherwise. He had nine TDs and nine INTs with 1,758 yards in just over seven games starting in 2011.

Rex Grossman

Another slide, another former Bear. While it would be a long shot for Grossman to return to Chicago, stranger things have happened.

The 31-year-old Grossman will likely either stay in Washington or, like Orton, head somewhere he has a chance to compete for a starting role.

In 2011 Grossman completed 57.9 percent of his passes for 3.151 yards. He had 16 TDs, but 20 INTs.

While John Beck may be the guy for the Redskins in 2012, they could retain Grossman to be a mentor.

Jason Campbell

Campbell broke his collarbone in October and was out for the rest of the season. With Carson Palmer in the fold, he is unlikely to return to the Raiders next season.

The unrestricted free agent will face the same requirements as the other candidates we mentioned—a desire to go somewhere he can have a chance to compete for a starting job.

Prior to the injury, he completed 60.6 percent of his passes, with six TDs and four INTs. Though a team may not offer him a starting job outright, he will definitely have better choices than Chicago in terms of playing time.

Josh Johnson

Though he hasn't been very effective as a starting QB in the league so far, Johnson has youth on his side. Since he will play 2012 as a 26-year-old, it may not be in Tampa Bay.

The backup to Josh Freeman with the Bucs, there may be one too many Josh's in Tampa Bay. He is a young QB with a powerful arm and great speed, so some team may take a chance on him. 

In his one start this season, Johnson completed 16-of-27 for 229 yards with one TD and one INT versus the Panthers

David Garrard

Garrard would have been scooped up by a team this season, but his back wasn't ready. But assuming he's healthy in 2012, there will be no shortage of suitors for Garrard.

That means he will not likely want to come to Chicago to be Cutler's caddy.

Garrard has been a starter, and in 2010 he was pretty good. He threw for 2,734 yards and 23 TDs after consecutive 3,500-yard seasons with Jacksonville.

Though he's starting to get a bit long in the tooth and coming off back surgery, I believe he will get a better opportunity elsewhere.  

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Kyle Boller

In his career, Boller has a 48-to-54 TD to INT ratio, 8.931 yards and a QB rating of 69.5. So, to say he's had a good career would be quite a stretch.

Yet if you look at McCown's career stats, they are just as bad. Boller, the former first-round pick of the Ravens, is another Raiders backup QB on this list.

He started two games when Jason Campbell got injured, before they acquired Palmer. Ironically, Palmer was the QB picked ahead of Boller in that draft.

By the way, Boller was not good in those two starts. In fact, over his last three seasons, Boller has three TDs and 10 INTs.

David Carr

Carr turns 33 in July, and while he's had some good seasons as a starter, those days are long gone.

He will be an unrestricted free agent after this season. He currently is with the Giants, but his only pass attempts (13) over the past two seasons came with the 49ers.

The first overall pick of the Texans in 2002, Carr is not a strong candidate to be anyone's second-string QB at this point.

Shaun Hill

The Lions backup QB is an unrestricted free agent and he actually has a pretty decent career record.

Hill turns 32 in January, and has no chance to start in Detroit, so a backup job with Chicago could be a possibility.

He has an 84.7 career QB rating over parts of six seasons with 39 TDs and only 23 INTs. He was pretty good as the starting QB in 2010 when Matthew Stafford was hurt, so there could be teams that view him as a starter.