Jay Cutler arrested in Tennessee for DUI, gun possession

Former Bears quarterback Jay Cutler was arrested Thursday night on suspicion of driving while intoxicated and three other offenses in Franklin, Tennessee, a Franklin Police Department spokesperson confirmed to the Sun-Times on Friday.

The other three charges include possession of a handgun while intoxicated, violation of the implied consent law and failure to exercise due care. Cutler was released from Williamson County Jail later Thursday after posting $5,000 bond.

Franklin police officers responded to a car accident around 5 p.m. Thursday, and their investigation suggested that Cutler rear-ended the car in front of him, according to a statement put out by the department. Cutler was slurring his words and had bloodshot eyes, according to the statement. He refused a field sobriety test and was taken to the hospital for a blood draw.

Before police arrived, Cutler, who was driving a white Dodge Ram, was accused of trying to pay the other driver $2,000 not to call the authorities.

He had two firearms in his car — and one was a loaded Glock pistol.

If convicted, Cutler would get his first DUI offense. He is due in court in January.

Cutler played for the Bears from 2009 to ’16 after he was acquired from the Broncos in a blockbuster deal. He posted some of the best passing seasons in Bears history — a low bar — and earned a seven-year, $126 million extension after the 2013 season. The Bears decided to cut him in March 2017, and he announced his retirement two months later.

It didn’t last long. After a brief stint as a Fox analyst, Cutler was enticed back onto the field by the Dolphins, who needed a veteran signal-caller to replace the injured Ryan Tannehill. He went 6-8 in his lone season in Miami and eventually became a character on his future ex-wife Kristin Cavallieri’s reality show.