Veteran Jay Cutler emerged from draft weekend as the unquestioned 2015 starter after the Chicago Bears declined to use any of their six picks on a quarterback.

“It never locked in to where we were on the board,” Bears general manager Ryan Pace said. “Every time our pick came up we had guys clearly graded better than the quarterbacks that were there. There was just never an opportunity where we were aligned. We’re excited about college free agency and being able to do it that way.”

After pre-draft discussions with Tennessee went nowhere — ESPN’s Bob Holtzman reported the Bears insisted Cutler be part of a deal to obtain the No. 2 pick from the Titans — Pace was presented with two logical chances to select a quarterback and passed on both.

The first opportunity came in Round 3 when Colorado State quarterback Garrett Grayson was available when Chicago went on the clock at No. 71 overall. Instead of tabbing Grayson, the Bears drafted Oregon center Hroniss Grasu, a former college teammate of two-time Pro Bowl right guard Kyle Long.

Grayson’s wait ended when he went No. 75 to the New Orleans Saints, Pace’s former employer. Later in the third round, the St. Louis Rams took Oregon State QB Sean Mannion at No. 89.

via Jeff Dickerson of ESPN.com