Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler was cleared to fully participate in practice and is scheduled to start this weekend, a league source told NFL Network insider Jason La Canfora on Tuesday.
Cutler's status has been the dominant topic surrounding the Bears ever since his nine-sack first half during a loss to the New York Giants two weeks ago left him with a concussion. Barring any unforeseen setbacks, Cutler will practice Wednesday and return to the lineup for Sunday's game against the Seattle Seahawks.
Cutler sat out last Sunday's 23-6 victory over the Carolina Panthers. Backup Todd Collins struggled mightily in that game, completed just 6 of 16 passes for 32 yards with four interceptions.
Bears coach Lovie Smith said Monday that he hoped Cutler could play in the next game, but he quickly tried to have reporters change their line of questioning.
"I'm not going to talk about Jay anymore," Smith said. "There's nothing else for me to tell you about Jay. He's doing better. Wednesday, we'll be able to tell you a little bit more."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
