AP

The Bears appear set to enter the 2016 season with Jay Cutler as their starting quarterback. But Cutler says he realizes this could be the year that the Bears draft his replacement.

Cutler told David Haugh of the Chicago Tribune that if the Bears use the 11th overall pick in the draft on a quarterback, Cutler will be ready for that.

“I would say I get it, I totally get it,” Cutler said. “At some point it’s going to happen. They’re going to get somebody else. I’m not going to play until I’m 43. I understand that. But on the flip side, I’d be like, we really could have gotten somebody who can help me right now. So that would be my two reactions. If they do it, I will help whoever they bring in as much as I could and kind of see how it unfolds.”

Cutler is coming off a season in which he had a career-high passer rating of 92.3, and at 32 years old he probably has a few more years left in him. On the other hand, if a quarterback like Jared Goff or Paxton Lynch is there at No. 11, the Bears may decide that’s not a quarterback they can pass on. If that’s what happens, Cutler sounds like he’s ready to accept it.