On Friday, Jay Cutler turned 33.
The Bears celebrated by giving Cutler the gift of security. Yes, they seem to give their quarterback the same thing almost every year, but it means more entering Cutler's eighth _ yes, eighth _ season in Chicago.
As if rewarding Cutler for the improved efficiency he showed in 2015, the Bears avoided selecting his successor during the three-day NFL draft. They passed on trading down and targeting Memphis' Paxton Lynch in the first round, resisted any temptation to take Michigan State's Connor Cook as he slid into the fourth, and ignored the urge to nab Stanford's Kevin Hogan after that. Even if Cutler didn't need a vote of confidence at this stage of his career, not drafting a quarterback implicitly provided one.
Thus Cutler emerged as one of the weekend's biggest winners at Halas Hall. Collectively, the 2016 Bears draft class could benefit Cutler as much as anybody. Theoretically, every button general manager Ryan Pace pushed enhanced the quality of life for his quarterback most.
Pace improved the speed and athleticism of a defense that is every quarterback's best friend by making six of his nine picks on the side of the ball that required the most attention _ most notably pass rushers Leonard Floyd of Georgia and Jonathan Bullard of Florida.
He also bolstered an offensive line that looks like the Bears' most improved position by taking Kansas State offensive guard Cody Whitehair in the second round, perhaps their most unorthodox pick. The power running game coach John Fox favors received an ideal complement to starter Jeremy Langford when Pace drafted intriguing 6-foot, 230-pound Jordan Howard of Indiana in the fourth round. And almost as a bonus in the seventh round, Pace added shifty slot receiver Daniel Braverman, likely to conjure fond memories of Cutler buddy Dane Sanzenbacher.
Even the smart signing of backup quarterback Brian Hoyer _ an ally of new offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains _ who arrives with a solid reputation as a leader, offers Cutler his most resourceful veteran in the meeting room since Josh McCown.
Overall, Pace's draft decisions gradually improved every day, peaking Saturday when the Bears filled needs at running back with Howard and safety with fourth-rounders Deon Bush of Miami and Deiondre' Hall of Northern Iowa. The production of West Virginia linebacker Nick Kwiatkoski, the type of "throwback" player Fox asked Pace to find, bodes well for special teams. So does the uncanny knack of sixth-round choice DeAndre Houston-Carson to block kicks _ he had nine at William & Mary.
To those of us not ready yet to anoint Pace, he had to finish strong after a surprising second day and head-scratching trade up in the first round for Floyd, not as NFL-ready as a couple of players on the board. Floyd could develop into a Pro Bowl pass rusher or his untapped potential one day will be used against the Bears GM. The point remains that, for the second straight year, questions surround a Pace pick in the top 10, generally a spot teams seek to eliminate doubts, not invite them.
Bullard represents perhaps the biggest value pick, an interior force who registered 17 { tackles for a loss last year for Florida against SEC competition. That Bullard lasted until the 72nd overall pick raised some eyebrows around the league, and the Bears pouncing on him marked the point in the draft when Pace appeared to stop trying to get too cute.
Along those lines, drafting a quarterback for the sake of doing so would have fallen under that category.
"We would have (taken a quarterback) if it had lined up right for us," Pace said.
Had the Bears been less satisfied with Cutler, they would have been more eager to make things line up with a quarterback on their draft board. But Cutler's progress made that far from a priority.
At some point, of course, the Bears will need a succession plan for Cutler. Coming off a 6-10 season, one of Cutler's most effective, simply made this the wrong offseason to force one. Too many other roster deficiencies took priority. Too few options existed in a crop of quarterbacks full of guys who left too many NFL executives and scouts nonplussed.
Like it or not, Cutler returning as the unchallenged starter and unquestioned leader gives the Bears their best chance to compete for an NFC playoff spot. Pace saving room in his draft class for a developmental quarterback, who was sure to create the kind of distraction Fox hates, would have wasted a roster spot more wisely used on a player who actually can affect Sundays.
That was the gist of what Cutler told me the day after last season when I asked what he would think if the Bears took a quarterback early in the draft.
"At some point it's going to happen," Cutler said. "They're going to get somebody else. I'm not going to play until I'm 43. I understand that. But on the flip side, if we did, I'd be like, we really could have gotten somebody who can help me right now."
Prudently, Pace did just that. While shopping for talent over Cutler's birthday weekend, the Bears got their quarterback exactly what he wanted by sticking to what the team needed most.
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