Jay Cutler doesn’t sound like a man who plans to sue the NFL when he retires.
Cutler, the Bears quarterback who reportedly had three concussions at Vanderbilt, one with the Broncos and one with the Bears, says concussions are a concern, but they’re a concern that he decided he could accept when he decided to play football.
“It’s a tough subject, it’s a touchy subject, I think you have to be careful what you say and don’t say. Some guys are totally on one side of the and other guys are on the other side of the fence,” Cutler said, via Sean Jensen of the Chicago Sun-Times. “You know, I signed up to play football. I understand that. I understand you’re going to take hits, you’re going to get beat up.”
Cutler said that when you choose to play football, you accept certain risks.
“At the end of the day, it’s a tough sport. You’re going to take shots in the head, and you’re going to get concussions from time to time,” Cutler said. “But no one made me play football. Not one put a gun to my head and said, ‘You have to play football.’ It’s what I love to do. And I knew the risks and benefits going into it.”
One thing that could make football a little less risky for Cutler would be the Bears bolstering their offensive line. Cutler said there are still some question marks in front of him.
“You know, the offensive line is definitely going to be a concern and seeing where those guys are going to fit in and seeing what five we go with,” Cutler said. “If Gabe [Carimi] comes back, if J’Marcus [Webb] pans out. Where are we going to put Chris Williams? There are some question marks there. Until we really get that resolved, and get our front five settled in, we’ve got some work to do on offense.”
The better the Bears do at bolstering their line, the less the risk for Cutler.