Good news: Jay Cutler will be under center for the Bears on Monday night against the Vikings after missing the previous six weeks with a thumb injury.

Bad news: Cutler's days in Chicago once again appear numbered.

Coming off one of the best seasons of his career -- thanks in large part to offensive coordinator Adam Gase, who is now the Dolphins coach -- Cutler completed just 61 percent of his passes with a touchdown and two interceptions in the first two games of 2016. Exacerbating matters: Journeyman quarterback Brian Hoyer's stat-stuffing performance in Cutler's absence.

Mercifully, we've been spared the Cutler-Hoyer quarterback controversy -- Hoyer suffered a broken arm and is expected to be sidelined 6-8 weeks -- but it doesn't sound like coach John Fox has much confidence in Cutler now that he's healthy.

Two sources told Mike Mulligan of the Chicago Tribune that Fox has told friends that he's done with the quarterback. Cutler signed a seven-year, $126.7 million deal in January 2014, but most of the guaranteed money will have been paid by the end of 2016, and the Bears can dump him with little cost in the offseason.

Fox wasted little time denying the report.

On Tuesday, Cutler met with the media for the first time since mid-September. He was asked about Fox's confidence in him.

"He doesn't have a choice, I guess, at this point," Cutler said. "Brian is out, so I've got to go."

Which leads us to this...

More from Mulligan:

The worst kept secret is football is that Cutler is only back as a starter because the Bears have nowhere else to turn. Hoyer's on injured reserve with a broken arm, Matt Barkley isn't ready for prime time and the organization has failed to draft or develop another option.

And that means that the final half of the season is less about the near term -- helping the Bears out of this 1-6 hole -- and more about the future. Specifically: Cutler is auditioning for his next gig. A popular landing spot, at least until Ryan Tannehill picked up his play in recent weeks: Miami, where Cutler could be reunited with Gase.

For now, Cutler seems unconcerned about what could happen six months from now.

"Whatever happens at the end of the year, it's supposed to happen, and we'll go accordingly," he said. "But right now it's not something that I worry about. At the end of the year, we can have those conversations."