Bears coach Marc Trestman's decision to bench starting quarterback Jay Cutler in favor of inexperienced backup Jimmy Clausen for Sunday's game against the Lions is the latest chapter in the ongoing drama at Halas Hall.
After Thursday's practice, Trestman expressed his reasoning and Cutler shared his reaction in a packed media room at team headquarters.
Here are some of the highlights of what they said:
Cutler on if he thinks a fresh start somewhere else might be necessary:
"I would like to stay there. I really like it here. I love the guys in the locker room that I get to play with. Clearly, it's different circumstances now. But going forward, this is where I'd like to be."
Cutler on if this indicates the franchise is not as committed to him as it was before:
"That's a fair question. I don't know if I can answer that. I think that's probably something for Phil (Emery, general manager) or the McCaskeys or Tress (coach Marc Trestman). In my role right now, I just have to support Jimmy, try to help him as much as possible, and whatever happens after that last game."
Cutler on if he wonders about the franchise's commitment to him:
"Of course. I think everyone would wonder that. That's a natural response to wonder that. But like I said, going forward it is what it is. Whatever happens at that point between after the season and March or whenever they make the decision, we'll cross that when we get there."
Cutler on whether he saw this demotion coming and his reaction to it:
"Shocked, I think, at first, and then disappointed. I didn't see it coming. But I think any time you lose a lot of games and you don't play as well as you hoped, there's a chance it could happen."
Cutler on whether it's fair to replace a quarterback this late in the season, basically identifying him as a scapegoat:
"There's a lot in that question. I haven't really thought about it that deeply. All I know is there's a lot of money involved in my contract, which comes with a lot of expectations and a lot of responsibility. And whenever you're not winning and performing the way you should, (there's) a likelihood it could happen."
Cutler on if he could play for Trestman next season:
"Yes. Yes. I think I could. Yeah, I definitely think I could. We'd have to figure some things out through the offseason, which I think would be easy enough to identify and work on things, but that's not out of the question in my book anyway."
Trestman on the decision to bench Cutler and move to Clausen as the starting quarterback:
"As I told our team today, this doesn't void us of our offensive struggles that we have or the team struggles that we have by making this change. And I think our guys are well aware of that. But for the present moment, I think this is in the best interest of our football team. I can't speak for Jay but I know him well enough to know, this is obviously not a good time for him. (But) I've also seen careers revived from moments like this - that players gain strength, they gain perspective, they come out stronger. And I really expect Jay will do that. He will take a look at this moment and look back on it from a very positive perspective as he comes back and plays in this league. I really believe that will certainly happen."
Trestman on previous comments he had made last month that Cutler would be the Bears' starter so long as he was healthy:
"I did say that at the time. And I've changed my mind. I think this is in the best interest of the team. I think we need a lift at quarterback. I think we need a spark. The weight of the world should not be on Jimmy Clausen. He's going to get an opportunity to play and I'm hoping that (from) our team, against a very, very good defense, there will be some response from our football team."
Trestman on the feedback he received from general manager Phil Emery after making the decision:
"I'm not going to go into that. With every decision that we make, some of them I have to make those decisions ultimately and some he does, but certainly it's an ongoing process that we talk about and we talk about all aspects of it and I think that's something that I'm going to keep between us. The final decision was we made a decision to make a change at quarterback for this game."
Trestman on the major factors in benching Cutler:
"This is performance-based only. We're not getting enough out of our quarterback right now. We didn't this past week (against the Saints) and we haven't. That starts with me. It has nothing to do with attitude. Jay has been extremely professional throughout, including after we talked yesterday."
Trestman on whether he'd view any potential success by Clausen as a validation of his offensive system:
"I'm not looking to try to do anything but help our football team win a game."
Trestman on whether he needed to seek permission on his decision from his superiors at Halas Hall:
"This was a coaching decision. And the people that I work with in the building all said, 'This is a coaching decision, make the coaching decision that you think is appropriate for this time.'"