Chicago Bears: 5 Veteran Quarterbacks the Bears Need to Sign

With Jay Cutler's thumb injury after last week's victory against San Diego, the Bears are desperately in need of a veteran to play a back-up role to Caleb Hanie. 

Lovie Smith told ESPNChicago.com that he would love to have another quarterback on his roster. 

"The plan is for that. With Jay being out for awhile, we need another quarterback on our roster."

The following slides give a wish list of five quarterbacks Jerry Angelo should pursue and sign as the backup to Hanie. 

Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback J.T. O'Sullivan is one of the few slim-picking quarterbacks available that have ties to Mike Martz. 

O'Sullivan's effectiveness under the Martz system is up for debate, but the point is not to sign someone who will be incredibly effective. That is Jay's job.

O'Sullivan would fill a role in case Hanie can't do the job. O'Sullivan knows Martz's offense and could jump in and lead it right away. 

Recently, Jeff Garcia worked out with the Houston Texans to replace an injured Matt Schaub. The Bears should jump on Garcia before the Texans do.

Now the downside to Garcia is he doesn't know the Martz offense. He would have to quickly learn it. 

Garcia would be able to to lead effectively. He has filled this role before, and he is a very strong starter when called upon. 

I feel confident the Bears could make the playoffs if Garcia had to be called upon. 

Trent Edwards is an experienced starter. He started in Buffalo not too long ago. He could be a very suitable back up to Hanie.

In Buffalo Edwards posted decent numbers on a very bad team. 

Do I think Edwards will be effective like a Jeff Garcia? No. Do I think he will be as bad as Todd Collins? No. 

He's someone the Bears should at least take a look at. 

Josh McCown is another slim picking that has ties to Mike Martz.

McCown has showed flashes but he has never been on an amazing team. Not saying the Bears are amazing but they would be McCown's best team yet.

I think someone who has ties to Martz and someone who has worked with Martz should be the most important factor when deciding who to bring on. McCown could be a perfect short-term rental.

Every football fan knows Marc Bulger says he's staying retired and he won't play football again. 

Brett Favre also said that and look what happened to him. 

Bulger with the right price and some persuasion could come back and play football. He would be a great addition to the Bears. 

Now if Bulger comes to the Bears, I am almost tempted to say Bulger starts ahead of Hanie. He's more experienced and he knows the Martz system better than anyone not named Kurt Warner. 

The chances of luring Bulger back to football are slim to none, but he is worth a shot.