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Quarterback Jay Cutler is happy to see the Chicago Bears have made protecting their quarterback a priority after adding to the offensive line through free agency and with two draft picks.

The Bears, who gave up 49 sacks last season, which was fifth in the NFL, invested $17.7 million in guaranteed money in left tackle Jermon Bushrod and added guard Matt Slauson, who started 48 games the past four seasons for the New York Jets, during free agency. The Bears then picked Oregon guard Kyle Long with the 20th overall selection and Louisiana Tech offensive tackle Jordan Mills in the fifth round of the NFL draft.

"(The coaching staff is) going to make sure everyone knows their assignments and we are protected," Cutler said Monday on "The Waddle & Silvy Show" on ESPN Chicago 1000. "Bushrod is a huge addition and we drafted some guys and some of the guys we had last year have to step in and play well. It's definitely a point of emphasis. We're not going to let the quarterback get hit. We're not going to go into games unsure about protections. Everything starts there, and I think (new offensive coordinator/offensive line coach Aaron) Kromer is doing a great job with getting those guys up to speed with exactly how they want these things done."

With seven offensive linemen coming off the board before the Bears made their pick, Cutler said he wasn't sure what his team had planned with their first-round selection.

"I watched the first round and linemen were going off the board left and right so I wasn't too sure where we were going to go," Cutler said. "We have some holes defensively, we have Bushrod through free agency so I wasn't for sure about the pick. Like any quarterback I'm pretty selfish so anytime they pick somebody on offense it's going to make me smile."

There has never been a question about Jay Cutler's natural ability, but former NFL general manager and president Bill Polian believes the Chicago Bears quarterback has the intangibles to be great as well.

"He wouldn't be the type of quarterback he is without the intangibles," Polian, now an ESPN analyst, told "The Waddle & Silvy Show" on ESPN Chicago 1000 Wednesday. "Just stop and think about this: What was he surrounded with at Vanderbilt? I saw him as a sophomore ... in the Swamp take Florida to the wire and come back about three or four times in that game. It took a miraculous play by the Gators, who were then in the top 10 in the country, to win the game.

"This is a guy who's done a lot with a little throughout his career. And his receiver corps -- it's no secret -- his receiving corps in Chicago has not been stellar during his time there. I don't know why people would question the intangibles. He's done a lot with a little throughout his career."

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INDIANAPOLIS -- Having once called Jay Cutler a franchise quarterback, Chicago Bears general manager Phil Emery sees no problem with the new coaching staff taking a more measured approach in its assessment of the veteran player.

Speaking at the NFL scouting combine on Thursday at Lucas Oil Stadium, Emery also declined to discuss the possibility of a new contract for Cutler, who in 2013 enters the final year of his deal.

"The No. 1 thing is that our team wins and that Jay improves, and all of our players improve," Emery said. "I know this: our coaches are excited to work with Jay. So whether it's a matter of semantics where I'm calling somebody a franchise (player) and (the coaches) haven't said that, I'm OK with that. I know in their heart they're here to work with Jay and help Jay become a better player, and the leader on our team that helps us wins football games and wins championships."

Entering the final year of his contract, Cutler -- despite playing just four seasons with the Bears -- leads the franchise in passer rating (81.9), and completions (1,034) and ranks second in touchdown passes (82), passing yards (12,292) and completion percentage (59.6).

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LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- The new coaching staff of the Chicago Bears continued to hear the inevitable five-word question regarding quarterback Jay Cutler.

Is he a franchise quarterback?

Like new head coach Marc Trestman did in his initial press conference, recently-hired quarterbacks coach Matt Cavanaugh eluded that inquiry Thursday at the Walter Payton Center, preferring to take a wait-and-see approach before offering proclamations.

"I think anybody that's starting in this league you hope they're a franchise quarterback," Cavanaugh said. "I think he's got all the ability. But let us spend some time (with him). I've seen him from afar. I want to see him up close. I want to be able to talk to him. I want to be able to work with him. I think he's got a ton of talent, and I know you can win a lot of games with it."

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The "elite" quarterback club gained a new member in the Baltimore Ravens' Joe Flacco thanks to his Super Bowl MVP performance, and New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton believes Jay Cutler has the potential to join him.

"Yeah, I think he can," Payton said Wednesday on "Carmen, Jurko & Harry" on ESPN Chicago 1000. "We like to throw this term around the last five years, is he elite, is he one of the top five (quarterbacks)? The biggest thing is can we win a Super Bowl with this player? You look at a guy that just won, Joe Flacco. There's a journey, a path for each of these guys that win a Super Bowl, and it's not always the same.

"A guy like Trent Dilfer certainly was different than a guy like Drew Brees who was different than Peyton Manning. The question is can we get into the end zone with this guy, can he lead us to where we want to go, to where Jim McMahon took the Bears back in the '80s? I think the two big allies for good quarterback play are a good defense and a good running game. That takes pressure off that position."

Cutler has made the playoffs just one time in his four seasons in Chicago and narrowly missed the postseason in 2012 after starting 7-1 only to finish 10-6. He figures to benefit from new head coach Marc Trestman, a quarterback guru and veteran NFL offensive coordinator.

"He's got a big arm. I like what you see from him in the pocket," Payton said of Cutler. "I'm sure Marc will work on some specifics with him. I think he's a great talent. He's certainly someone at that stage where he's at where I think that expectation rises a little bit because you want to see that next step."

LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- The Chicago Bears introduced Marc Trestman on Thursday as the franchise's 14th head coach, and the new hire expressed almost immediately excitement about the prospect of working with quarterback Jay Cutler.

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It remains to be seen how Jay Cutler will work with new head coach Marc Trestman, but if history is any indication, the Bears quarterback will stay on his feet much more this season.

When Trestman, who was hired Wednesday by the Bears, took over as Montreal head coach before the 2008 season, the Alouettes were coming off a season in which they led the CFL in sacks allowed with 68. In his first season with mostly the same offensive linemen, the Alouettes, running Trestman's offense, surrendered a CFL-low 22 sacks.

And Trestman proved he could keep defenses off his quarterback during his five years in Montreal with his teams averaging 31 sacks allowed a season.

"He devised a system that might have even been similar to what the Saints were running for Drew Brees to make sure that reads were (made) to get rid of the ball quick," Alouettes general manager Jim Popp said Wednesday on "The Waddle & Silvy Show" on ESPN 1000. "... Once he got that rolling and five years later we've always been near the top of not getting sacked. ... He can adapt and adjust. One thing he's going to make sure is that that quarterback is well protected. He's going to give that quarterback a great chance to be productive by protecting that guy."

The Bears gave up 44 sacks this season -- eighth in the NFL -- with Cutler absorbing 38 of them. They allowed 49 in 2011 (fifth in the NFL) and led the NFL with 56 in 2010.

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Rich Gannon said Marc Trestman, who Jimmy Johnson believes is the Chicago Bears' pick as head coach, would "embrace" the opportunity to work with quarterback Jay Cutler.

"This whole perception about Jay Cutler ... look, Jay Cutler at the end of the day wants to win," Gannon, the former Oakland Raiders quarterback and current TV analyst said Friday on "Waddle & Silvy" on ESPN 1000. "You've just got to find a way to get into his psyche and be able to figure him out, form a bond and a relationship and form a trust. When you are constantly changing things around the quarterback, it's hard to develop that continuity and trust factor.

"When you got a coordinator who is getting you hit every play and another guy that maybe hasn't done it a lot and now all of a sudden you're firing a coach, it's very unsettling to a quarterback. He needs somebody that is going to put his arm around him, embrace him, but at the same time somebody who is going to lean on him a little bit. Jay Cutler, in my opinion, needs to be leaned on. They need to take out that file and smooth the rough edges. Someone has to get the point across to Jay that this is it. If your career is going to go anywhere, it's going to happen here in Chicago, and if not, then good luck."

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The Chicago Bears will interview Houston Texans offensive coordinator Rick Dennison for their head coaching position on Friday, according to a source, and quarterback Jay Cutler said Dennison is a "great" head coaching candidate.

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DETROIT -- Misgivings regarding the protection resulted in the Chicago Bears sending just two receivers out on the route for what -- given the situation -- might have been the been the most significant play of the season made by Jay Cutler.

With the Bears clinging to the lead on their own 47 with 3:28 left to play, Cutler broke off a 19-yard scramble on third and 3 to preserve not only the 26-24 win over the Detroit Lions Sunday, but also the club’s playoff hopes.

“That was a huge run,” Bears coach Lovie Smith said. “That might have been the biggest play of the game.”

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GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Jay Cutler never knew exactly where he stood statistically during a horrid performance lasting nearly all of the first half of Sunday’s 28-13 win over the Arizona Cardinals.

The Chicago Bears quarterback probably didn’t want to know.

“I was aware it wasn’t pretty,” Cutler said. “I knew we were throwing some misses and balls were hitting the ground. You can’t really worry about it.”

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MINNEAPOLIS -- Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler left the game at Minnesota with a neck injury.

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Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler talks to Waddle and Silvy about whether he would take a "hometown discount" during contract negotiations to help the Bears surround him with better talent.

Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler said he was shocked the NFL fined him $10,000 for flipping the ball to a defender during a victory over the Minnesota Vikings on Nov. 25 and he plans to appeal.

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CHICAGO -- When people talk about Sunday’s Chicago Bears-Seattle Seahawks' game in the future, they’ll first recall the Seahawks pulling out a 23-17 overtime win. Then they’ll turn to Brandon Marshall's late fourth-quarter catch.

In a season where Marshall has made his fair share of extraordinary catches, the one he made in the final seconds Sunday may just rank at the top.

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