INDIANAPOLIS — Bears general manager Ryan Pace and coach John Fox met with Jay Cutler in Chicago, part of the evaluation process of where the quarterback stands.

“Cutler has outstanding physical talent, there’s no denying that,” Pace said. “It’s just getting to know the individual and all of the other intangibles that make a great quarterback. Again, that’s what we’re doing now. That really takes getting to know the person, right? So that’s the process we’re going through.

“Me and John have both been around all different kinds of quarterbacks, it’s just figuring out him as a person.”

Cutler dealt with a coaching staff that failed last season, and that is one factor Pace said weighs into the process.

“There’s certain things that were happening last year that might have been tough for him, and so we’re going to analyze that and go further,” he said. “The quarterback position is the hardest position to evaluate, so I think the more games we can look at, the more evidence, the more accurate we can be with our decisions.”

If Cutler is retained, the team likely would have competition for him, or at least a potential eventual replacement rather than untested players carrying a clipboard.

“I know Ron Wolf used to draft a quarterback every year,” Pace said. “It’s such a critical, critical position that that’s something we’re always going to look at.

“And we want competition throughout the entire team, so competition at that position is just as good as competition anywhere.”

Pace met with former Bears quarterback Josh McCown at the Scouting Combine but made no commitment to bringing him back after he struggled as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ starter.