Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter the Bears have traded WR Brandon Marshall to the Jets. There have been plenty of rumors this week about the Bears putting Marshall on the market and apparently they found a taker in the New York Jets.
Bears have agreed to trade WR Brandon Marshall to the Jets pending a physical, per league source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 6, 2015
There is no word yet on what the Bears received for Marshall, but rumors had them asking for a mid round pick. The Bears gave up two 3rd round picks for Marshall back in 2012, but aren’t expected to get anywhere close to that in return. Marshall is coming off his worst season with the Bears only catching 61 passes for 721 yards and 8 TDs. He also dealt with multiple injuries and was involved in numerous off-field distractions. I think the trade has more to do with the off-field and locker room issues than his play on the field.
New Bears offensive coordinator Adam Gase was with the Broncos in Marshall’s last year there and was witness to Marshall in full distraction mode. His locker room antics certainly had something to do with the decision as did his deteriorating play on the field, but the primary factor may have been his $7.7M cap number in 2015. By trading Marshall the Bears have freed up just under $4M in cap space for this season.
Marshall’s release creates a significant hole in the Bears receiving corps which the Bears will need to fill via free agency or the draft. Third year WR Marquess Wilson is talented, but too unproven to rely on as a starter. The Bears brought in veteran WR Brian Hartline for a visit this week and with the 7th pick could have a shot at one of the top receivers in the draft, either Alabama’s Amari Cooper or Kevin White from West Virginia.
I’ll have more updates on the trade as the details are released.