Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler was taken out of Sunday's loss to the Detroit Lions during the fourth quarter due to a sprained left ankle.
Although Cutler tore a muscle in his left groin on Oct. 20, giving him a lot of pain, ESPN reports that the quarterback didn't feel any of the groin injury during Sunday's game. Cutler also said that he sprained his ankle in the second quarter, right before halftime, but played on it until 2:17 minutes were remaining in the game.
"I just didn't feel I could make some of the throws I wanted to make and move around, couldn't be as mobile," Cutler said. "[The groin] held up OK. It's all in the same leg, so I think that was a problem. We taped it up and it was stiff. But I felt like I could go as long as I kept it moving."
Backup quarterback Josh McCown relieved Cutler with just over two minutes remaining, and led the Bears to a touchdown – but it was already too late. Bears receiver Brandon Marshall commented on how Cutler was tough until the end, giving everything he had. "Jay - that drive right before Josh came in - he just couldn't move and [was] throwing balls on the ground, and misfiring," he said. "I think we had some discussions on the sideline and Jay was fighting to the end. You leave that [decision to leave the game] up to a competitor like Jay."
Chicago head coach Marc Trestman also defended his decision to keep Cutler in the game for as long as he did, according to Fox News. "He was rolled up on in the second quarter and was taped up at halftime," said Trestman. "I didn't want to take him out unless he failed the job. At the end I took him out because I knew he'd have to run around in the two-minute drill."
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