LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- Medical tests have confirmed that Jay Cutler suffered a strained hamstring in Chicago's 48-23 loss to the Arizona Cardinals, Bears coach John Fox said Monday.
Fox declined to announce a timetable for Cutler's return, but he indicated that the 32-year-old quarterback does not have a long-term ailment.
"Anytime it's not real severe, I think it's good news," Fox said. "We'll just evaluate it going forward. We'll put our game plan in tonight for Seattle, and players are back in on Wednesday."
The Bears' starting quarterback for Week 3 at Seattle is "yet to be determined," Fox said.
Cutler injured his hamstring while trying to tackle Cardinals safety Tony Jefferson, who intercepted a pass intended for Martellus Bennett deep in Chicago territory. Jefferson scored on the play to give the Cardinals a 28-14 lead with 2:59 remaining in the second quarter.
Backup quarterback Jimmy Clausen entered the game on the next possession and finished 14-of-23 for 121 yards and one interception with a passer rating of 56.6.
"As I mentioned yesterday, considering the circumstances and his preparation reps and getting ready to play Arizona, most backups are not getting all those reps regardless of the position," Fox said. "I think at the quarterback position it's a little tougher because you have to be in tune to everybody else completely. But I think all in all, he did OK."
Fox said the Bears have not decided whether they will sign another quarterback.
"Think we'll evaluate that, and we have all the way until Saturday to do anything like that," he said.
The club could opt to elevate second-year quarterback David Fales from the practice squad to the active roster. A 2014 sixth-round draft choice, Fales spent four weeks last year on the Bears' 53-man roster but never appeared in a game. He was on the active roster for Week 1 against Green Bay but was inactive on game day.
Jared Allen said the injury puts an onus on the defense to step up.
"When your starting quarterback goes down, you never want that to happen. Again, it's football. People get hurt," Allen said. "He's going to do everything he can do to get back and help us win, and now, defensively, we've got to go out and make sure we can keep going out and getting the ball to Jimmy Clausen and the offense so they can go out and score points."