There were recent rumblings recently in the Bears camp that even when Jay Cutler's thumb injury had healed, the team might stick with Brian Hoyer as the starting quarterback.
That was then, this is now. Hoyer, who had thrown for 300 yards in four straight starts, suffered a broken left arm in Thursday night's 26-10 loss to the Packers Thursday and is out indefinitely.
That leaves the inexperienced Matt Barkley (65 career pass attempts, six interceptions and no touchdowns) as the only healthy quarterback on the roster.
Suddenly, getting Cutler back on the field seems to be critical to the 1-6 team's hopes of salvaging the season. However, the veteran hasn't played since spraining his thumb in Week 2, and his status is uncertain.
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The Bears have a bye in Week 7 before hosting division rival Minnesota on Halloween night on Monday Night Football, but Bears coach John Fox told reporters he doesn't know when Cutler will be cleared to play.
"We're waiting on the medical people. When he's cleared, we'll have him out there," Fox said, via the Chicago Tribune. "When exactly that's going to be, I can't answer. But he's getting closer."
Even having Cutler available for relief duty would be helpful. Otherwise, the Bears must find another backup. Their emergency backup quarterback against the Packers was tight end Zach Miller, who played some quarterback at Nebraska-Omaha.