The Bears are loaded with talent but were hurt by a lot of injuries (DT Henry Melton, DT Nate Collins, LB Lance Briggs, LB D.J. Williams, CB Peanut Tillman).
With all those players healthy the club probably believes that they have a realistic shot at going to the Super Bowl. Is that more likely going to happen with a 35-year old Josh McCown, or with Cutler?
As far as picking up somebody else in free agency, forget that; there is nothing out there.
As far as adding someone in the draft goes, you're going out on a limb hoping that a QB that is still around at #18 is going to lead you through the playoffs. Guys like Teddy Bridgewater and Johnny Manziel will be long gone before they pick, and the price to move up from that far back would be astronomical.
While I totally agree that the money paid Cutler is ludicrous, if Chicago doesn't pay him then they're looking at going into rebuild mode with an eye on 2015 or beyond; does that make sense with the roster that they have?
Unfortunately for them that crazy contract is what it cost nowadays for a veteran starting quarterback. The Bears have a lot of other free agents (Tillman, Melton, Collins, Corey Wooten) but they have a lot of cap space ($41 million before the Cutler signing), and can create more if they decide to get out from under the Julius Peppers contract ($9.8 million of cap space).
