Over the past year, details have started to emerge about the fractured relationship between Devin Hester and Jay Cutler. The all-time great Chicago Bears kick returner admitted his dislike for the former quarterback. Much of it stems from how Cutler felt he couldn’t play wide receiver. Not to mention his less-than-ideal leadership qualities.
Recently, Hester opened up about how tense their relationship was. How he almost never talked to Cutler personally and they’d avoid each other in hallways. It got to such a point that he even started making bets at the expense of the Bears quarterback. He told one such story to Master Tesfatsion during an interview.
During one practice, Hester was speaking with defensive end Julius Peppers. The two made a bet. Every time Cutler threw the ball to Brandon Marshall during practice, Peppers would give him $50. Every time he threw it to somebody else, Hester would give him $100. Before practice even ended, the defensive end shut the bet down after Cutler threw to Marshall for the 21st consecutive time.
Devin Hester bet Julius Peppers that Jay Cutler would only throw to Brandon Marshall during practice.
Julius Peppers stopped the bet with Hester after Cutler threw the ball to Marshall 21 straight times. 😳
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Devin Hester was quite the sharp businessman
Nobody can ever say the Bears kick return icon didn’t smell an opportunity. Chicago traded for Marshall in 2012 from the Miami Dolphins. He had a strong connection to Cutler from their days in Denver when they both reached the Pro Bowl in 2008. Hester wasn’t stupid. He likely realized right away that the quarterback was going to favor “his guy” quite a bit that coming season.
He wasn’t wrong. Marshall was targeted 192 times that season. The next closest was Matt Fort with 59. The passing game was pretty much the Cutler to Marshall show. This was a clear indication of the quarterback’s inability to get others involved on a regular basis. His favoritism of Marshall was to the detriment of the offense which finished 29th in passing that season.
Hester saw it coming.