Bears quarterback Jay Cutler said Wednesday he'd "want to play next week if they let me," but admitted that because of the uncertainty about the time frame for recovery from his broken right thumb that "it could be [that] I'm done for the season." Cutler said he didn't want to put a specific date on his return because of all the variables concerning the recovery process. He underwent surgery in Colorado last week. Doctors inserted three screws and two pins to stabilize the right thumb. Cutler disclosed that depending on how fast he heals, the pins could be removed "anytime after three weeks, [but they could stay] up to 10 weeks," but the screws would remain. "So it's just a matter of if they're not hindering me being able to throw the ball, [whether] I'm comfortable with them, if they're not pinching," Cutler said. "There's a lot of factors."

The Bears have signed LS Chris Massey to a one-year contract and waived DE/LS Jake Laptad. Massey appeared in 135 games over nine seasons with the Rams after being selected by St. Louis in the seventh round (243rd overall) of the 2002 NFL Draft. Massey handled the long snapping duties in all nine seasons with the Rams.

The Raiders are tied for sixth in the NFL in sacks with 28, but have struggled against the run. The Bears are expecting Oakland to emphasize stopping Matt Forte and attacking Caleb Hanie. "Really, probably the blue print of how they're going to play us - I'm guessing - is what they did against that rookie quarterback in Minnesota, where they pressured a lot more than they had been pressuring," Bears offensive line coach Mike Tice said. "I look for them to do something like that, to us. And they've got a nice blitz package. We'll be ready for it. "We're 11, 12 weeks into the season. We've seen just about everything. There are only so many blitzes."

The Chicago Bears have agreed to terms with QB Josh McCown on a one-year contract. McCown has started 31 of 47 games played in eight NFL seasons with the Cardinals, Lions, Raiders and Panthers after entering the league as a third round selection (81st overall) by Arizona in the 2002 Draft. The quarterback out of Sam Houston State has completed 610 of 1,058 (57.7 percent) passing attempts during his NFL career for 6,584 yards, 35 touchdowns and 40 interceptions for a 71.3 passer rating.

The Chiefs claimed former Broncos quarterback Kyle Orton on waivers Wednesday, according to an NFL source. This means they now will take over his contractual rights for the remainder of this season and the Broncos are free of the $2.5 million they would have owed Orton. The Bears also put in a claim on Orton, but Kansas City had a higher priority. Matt Cassel hurt his throwing hand in the Chiefs' 17-10 loss to Denver on Nov. 13 and had season-ending surgery the next day.

The Bears will try to claim quarterback Kyle Orton, let go on Tuesday by the Broncos, on waivers. Chicago lost starter Jay Cutler to a thumb injury this week. Orton was once Cutler's backup in Denver and has played for the Bears earlier in his career. If another team claims him, it will be responsible for about $3 million in salary, which is what remains of his roughly $9 million contract for 2011. If nobody claims him, he'll be free to sign with anybody.

Bears quarterback Jay Cutler will undergo surgery on his fractured right thumb on Wednesday in Colorado, according to sources familiar with the situation. Chicago coach Lovie Smith said Monday that he believes Cutler could return to the field near the tail end of the regular season. "The plan is to get him back at the latter part of the regular season," Smith said. "This is what I wanted to know, 'Was it a season-ending injury?' No. From what I've been told right now, we can expect him back at the end of the regular season. For me, that's enough to go on."

The Bears will start Caleb Hanie at quarterback in the absence of Jay Cutler. Brian Urlacher suggested Chicago take a cue from the Broncos and run a similar offense used by Tim Tebow. "He's going to be able to move around in the pocket a little bit, maybe a little Tebow offense."

Bears quarterback Jay Cutler will undergo surgery on the thumb on his throwing hand after breaking it during Sunday's 31-20 victory over the Chargers. The team initially said the surgery would take place Tuesday but quickly changed that statement to say a date hasn't been set. "It's devastating," linebacker Brian Urlacher said. "It's horrible, and I felt worse for him than I did for us. It stinks for us because he's having such a great year. He's our leader. He's the guy we turn to for pretty much everything." Bears coach Lovie Smith wouldn't speculate on how long Cutler will be out. Sources said that he will likely miss the final six regular-season games.

Bears quarterback Jay Cutler is expected to miss the remainder of the regular season after breaking the thumb on his throwing hand in Sunday's win over the Chargers, according to two sources. Cutler plans to undergo further evaluation of the injury on Monday, but the injury will require surgery that will keep him out "at least the rest of the regular season." The Bears still have not confirmed the injury.