Buried deep in the debate about Jay Cutler's future with the Chicago Bears is an assumption that the team easily could bring back quarterback Josh McCown if it let Cutler walk.
One problem with that assumption is McCown sounds perfectly comfortable with possibly not playing in the NFL next season. For the 34-year-old quarterback, family is more important that his job.
"It's a year-to-year thing of how long is this going to be," McCown told the Chicago Sun-Times. "In our minds, when we commit to it, it's for a year. So to be apart like this, it's a tough deal. But it's something everybody (in my family) talks about, including my daughter, my oldest, especially, just sitting with her, 'Is all this OK? Are you cool with this?' So she's been great with it all.
"But for me, I know that there is a time coming where it's going to get harder and harder. I kind of have a thought process in my mind of: I don't know if I want to do this and let her get out of my house having done this the last four years where we live apart.
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"There's not enough money in the world to justify and make it feel OK to miss those games and stuff like that. It's a process. It's things that we think about, quite honestly, moving forward in my career in the direction, 'Are we going to keep playing?' All those things, because it's a real question, because those things are hard."
The future free agent has a job in the NFL if he wants one next season -- with the Bears or elsewhere. Every team needs a reliable veteran backup, and those have proven to be in short supply this season.
This holiday season, however, has McCown remembering that the proper order of operations prioritizes family in front of football.
The latest "Around The League Podcast" breaks down the playoff picture.
