Jay Cutler has plenty of critics. For a quarterback with such ridiculous talent, it’s hard not to feel like he underachieved. While he holds every notable passing record in Chicago Bears history, he only made the playoffs once between 2009 and 2016. Some of that was his own fault, being a somewhat erratic gunslinger at times. Others it was a simple organizational failure to build around him properly. One person who remains a big fan all these years later is Matt Slauson.

Bears fans will remember him as a veteran guard who signed with the team in 2013. He played with Cutler for three seasons before departing in 2016. It’s important to remember something. After he left, Slauson had a chance to play with Philip Rivers in Los Angeles and then Andrew Luck in Indianapolis. Experts would consider those two far superior to Cutler.

Not Slauson. He made that clear on Instagram recently. The Bears posted a Best of Cutler Mic’d Up moments. The former guard then delivered a surprising quote, stating the QB was misunderstood and so much better than he got credit for.

Matt Slauson certainly keeps the Cutler debate going

Understand that Luck went to multiple Pro Bowls in his career. Rivers will probably end up in the Hall of Fame after he retires. For Slauson to say Cutler was better is a bold statement. The numbers don’t back it up. Yet context is always key. Both of those quarterbacks played in more advantageous situations for most of their careers than Cutler did. Rivers having better weapons. Luck playing in a dome.

While the guy was never perfect, he also never complained. He made the most out of what he had, which was too often not enough. Three different head coaches. Six different offensive coordinators. Stability was never a word that could be mentioned during his time under center. So it’s fair to say the Bears never saw what Cutler could’ve been. The one Slauson knew was there.