Chicago Bears Re-Sign WR/PR Marc Mariani
Saturday was a busy day for the Chicago Bears as they locked up three more players on the fourth day of free agency. We already covered the biggest signing of the day in ILB Jerrell Freeman who they signed to a three-year, $12M deal with $6M guaranteed. Then the Bears brought back rotational defensive lineman Mitch Unrein to a two-year, veteran minimum deal. Finally, the Bears signed wide receiver / return specialist Marc Mariani to a one-year deal with the terms still undisclosed.
Mariani was signed by the Bears late in the 2014 season as a return specialist and played well enough to return in 2015. The former Pro Bowl return man in 2010 looked to have regained his pre-injury form after two seasons lost to knee injuries, but he struggled as a returner in 2015 with three fumbles (one lost) and both punt and kick return averages in the bottom five of the league. Around mid-season special teams coach Jeff Rodgers benched Mariani as a kick returner and the Bears signed Deonte Thompson to take his place. Thompson instantly added a spark to the return game and Mariani’s future with the Bears looked bleak.
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Luckily for Mariani, the Bears starting receiving corps couldn’t stay healthy and Mariani was forced into the starting lineup as a slot receiver despite not catching a pass in the NFL since 2011. Mariani was a productive receiver in college at Montana with 4.48 speed and reliable hands, but was never given a shot at the position in the NFL until this year. Due to injuries, Mariani started five games for the Bears and quickly developed a good rapport with QB Jay Cutler.
On the season Mariani caught 22 passes for 300 yards and zero touchdwons but an impressive 13.6 yards per catch which is comparable to top receivers in the league like Julio Jones (13.8), Antonio Brown (13.5), and DeAndre Hopkins (13.7), albeit with a much smaller sample size from Mariani. I think Mariani’s most impressive stats were that 19 of his 22 catches went for first downs and he didn’t drop a catchable pass all season. By the end of the year, Mariani was Cutler’s go-to guy in clutch situations.
Both the Raiders and 49ers were said to be interested in Mariani and he probably would have had a better chance to earn snaps at wide receiver with either team, but Mariani choose to stay with the Bears. With everyone healthy next year Mariani is probably 5th on the WR depth chart, but he showed the potential to step up and make clutch plays when needed, which earned him a spot on the Bears 2016 roster.