Players: Negative perception of Cutler unwarranted

“As a guy, as a teammate, he’s an awesome guy, good friend, always there for you and just a good dude . ... He’s there for his guys.” David Fales, Cutler’s backup in Chicago for two seasons

DAVIE Miami Dolphins guard Jermon Bushrod knows newly-acquired quarterback Jay Cutler well. The two were teammates in Chicago for three years (2013-15). Bushrod is a big fan of Cutler.

“I think he’s a great teammate, I think he’s a great guy,” said Bushrod, who said he communicated with Cutler during the last couple of days but never tried to recruit him. “I have spent three years in Chicago. We were pretty close there, he was a family man, I have a family. It was just a good vibe. He’s a good locker room, guy.”

Bushrod’s opinion runs contrary to the public perception of Cutler.

But quarterback David Fales, Cutler’s backup in Chicago for two seasons (2014-15), gave a similar account of Cutler.

“As a quarterback he’s talented, skilled, instinctual, very smart,” Fales said. “He’s been in this league this long for a reason because he’s one of the best.

“As a guy, as a teammate, he’s an awesome guy, good friend, always there for you and just a good dude. He’s really smart. He’s a good teammate. He’s there for his guys.”

So why is there such a negative perception of Cutler as disinterested and distant?

“I don’t know,” Fales said. “I try not to listen to ESPN or any of that. The more you’re around the guys in the league, none of it’s true.

“He’s always positive energy, always positive, always trying to help guys out, he’s never bringing anybody down. So if you know Jay, he’s not any of the way [he’s] portrayed on ESPN at all.”

Bushrod half-jokingly said the media is to blame for Cutler’s image problem. Then Bushrod, a media favorite, backpedaled.

“But look, at the end of the day I know the guy, I’ve spent time with him,” he said. “I see how he is in the huddle, I see how he is in the locker room, so the messages that are portrayed on some of the major broadcasting networks isn’t what we see,

isn’t what we feel.

“When I was in the locker room with him I didn’t feel that way about him. I thought he was a tough player. I hear the things that people say. When I was there it upset me, and now that’s he’s here people are still going to have their things to say.

“But at the end of the day if you win games, nobody says anything about that.”

Fales said it makes sense Cutler and Gase reunited.

“One of his better years a couple of years ago was with Adam, and it’s going to be really similar and he’s coming into a good situation,” Fales said. “So it’s definitely not a surprise he’s coming here.”

And Fales added he’s not surprised it happened, adding Cutler was the first name that came to his mind.

“This is a perfect situation,” Fales said, “and I kind of figured he’d definitely try to hop on to it if it presented itself. Unfortunately for Ryan, it did. We’re excited for [Cutler].”

Bushrod said Cutler is ready to go.

“He’s excited,” he said. “He’s excited to get back down here, he’s excited to get back in the building with Gase. He wasn’t ready to full hang it up. I feel him. I understand where he was coming from.

“The broadcasting thing would have been a cool gig for him, but he still has some football left and I just told him that we’re excited to see him down here.”