Chicago Bears receivers should take solace in knowing quarterback Jay Cutler believes in them.
Cutler made that clear by reiterating his stance Wednesday concerning the possibility of the club acquiring receiver Terrell Owens, who was spotted hanging out last month with the quarterback at Underground, a Chicago nightclub.
"Good guy, but I'm still gonna stay where we are receiver-wise and say we're good," Cutler said Wednesday on "The Waddle & Silvy Show" on ESPN 1000.
Owens, 36, continues to search for a new team after catching 55 passes for 829 yards and five touchdowns last season with the Buffalo Bills. It's believed that Owens seeks a contract worth more than most teams are willing to pay at this point.
Owens recently said that he didn't think his asking price was too high, adding that he wants to be paid a salary that is commiserate to that of a starter.
Even if Owens could be acquired at a bargain-basement price, it appears Cutler wouldn't be interested.
"That's up to management, obviously," Cutler said. "Like I said since I first got here, I think we've got a good group of guys in our stable right now."
Cutler discussed two of them -- Devin Aromashodu and Juaquin Iglesias -- specifically, saying that "D.A.'s having another great camp" and that "Juaquin has definitely stepped up his game from last year. He's showing great improvements. We've got four or five guys who are really battling it out and doing well, which is good. The more guys you can have, the better off we'll be."
The Bears take the field Wednesday for the second-to-last organized team activity that is open to the media. The club concludes OTAs next week, before taking a nearly month-long break prior to heading to Bourbonnais for training camp.
Cutler said he has been encouraged by the strides the offense is making toward fully grasping the complicated scheme of coordinator Mike Martz. Former Bears receiver Muhsin Muhammad, who announced his retirement last week, said he thought Martz's offense was simpler than the scheme utilized by former offensive coordinator Ron Turner, therefore making it potentially more receiver-friendly to the club's young group.
Cutler didn't agree.
"Uh, no," the quarterback said, when asked whether Martz's offense was simpler than Turner's. "It's different, but I would definitely not classify it as simpler.
"It's something different to all of us, the receivers, me as the quarterback, the running backs, [the] offensive line. Just the way the guys have responded to it and really taken to it, it's encouraging to see. It's going well. The guys are really picking it up. We had a great day yesterday, so hopefully today we'll do it again."
Michael C. Wright covers the Bears for ESPNChicago.com.