Although his contract expires next season, Jay Cutler’s standing as the franchise quarterback of the Bears appears safe. Both general manager Phil Emery and team chairman George McCaskey provided strong endorsements of Cutler Tuesday at Halas Hall. In fact, McCaskey had perhaps the ultimate compliment of Cutler. “I think he’s an outstanding leader. He reminds

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Although his contract expires next season, Jay Cutler’s standing as the franchise quarterback of the Bears appears safe.

Both general manager Phil Emery and team chairman George McCaskey provided strong endorsements of Cutler Tuesday at Halas Hall.

In fact, McCaskey had perhaps the ultimate compliment of Cutler.

“I think he’s an outstanding leader. He reminds me a lot of George Halas, as a player,” McCaskey said. “Outstanding competitor, toughness, and will do anything to win.”

Halas, of course, is Papa Bear, a Hall of Famer, a Chicago native, a football pioneer as a player, coach and owner.

But McCaskey didn’t stop there.

“Jay Cutler is the most talented quarterback the Bears have here in the last 60 years,” McCaskey said. “He’s a very good quarterback. He wants to be great, and he needs to be great, and we need to do what we can to achieve that.”

So don’t expect Cutler to be shipped away like he was by the Denver Broncos.

Emery said the new head coach would have input and didn’t say Cutler was off limits. But both he and McCaskey sounded definitive in backing Cutler.

“I see Jay as a franchise quarterback,” Emery said. “We have to build around him.”