Jay Cutler Benched

Nick Laham/Getty Images(LAKE FOREST, Ill.) — Jay Cutler will be the backup quarterback when the Chicago Bears host the Detroit Lions Sunday.

Bears head coach Marc Trestman announced Thursday that Jimmy Clausen would start over the NFL’s highest-paid offensive player on Sunday.

Cutler just signed a seven-year, $126.7 million contract with the Bears this past off-season.

“Certainly it was not an easy decision,” Trestman said. “In my mind those types of decisions never are. As I told our team today, this doesn’t void us of our offensive struggles that we have or the team struggles that we have by making this change. And I think our guys are well aware of that. But for the present moment, I think this is in the best interest of our football team.”

It may be true. The 31-year-old Cutler currently leads the NFL with 24 turnovers. The Bears are also one of only four teams that hasn’t scored at least 30 points in a game this season — the Jaguars, Raiders, and Titans are the others.

Now Clausen, who is 1-9 as a starter in the NFL, takes over.

“I think we need a lift at quarterback. I think we need a spark,” Trestman said. “The weight of the world should not be on Jimmy Clausen. He’s going to get an opportunity to play and I’m hoping that against a very, very good defense there will be some response from our football team.”