The Chicago Bears gave up too soon on Marty Booker
Chicago is where wide receivers go to die. That's what Muhsin Muhammad said after playing for the Chicago Bears for three seasons -- including the year they lost to the Colts in the Super Bowl. Well one wide receiver who had a solid career with the Bears, or at least a solid start to his career, was Marty Booker.
Booker was a third-round draft pick in 1999. He struggled his first two years in the league, but in 2002, Booker became the focal point in the Bears' passing game. He saw 157 targets and caught 100 of them for 1,071 yards and eight touchdowns. He followed that up the next year with 97 catches for 1,189 yards and six touchdowns.
Marty Booker never eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark again, but he was still a solid receiver throughout four of his final six seasons. He played four years with Miami where he averaged close to 700 yards receiving and caught 11 total touchdowns. The Bears liked what they saw so much that they brought him back in 2008. At 32 years old, Booker had fallen off a cliff production-wise and didn't last in the league beyond the 2009 season. Still, the Bears missed out on four very productive seasons.