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Brandon Marshall Trade: Why It Was The Right Move For The Chicago Bears

By Jordan Campbell

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Dec 4, 2014; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bears wide receiver Brandon Marshall (15) catches a pass during the second quarter against the Dallas Cowboys at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports

The Chicago Bears trade of wide receiver Brandon Marshall to the New York Jets will become official on Tuesday. Despite the fact that Marshall will go down as the greatest wide receiver in the history of the Bears’ organization, the time was right for the Bears to trade the wide receiver. 

On Tuesday, Brandon Marshall will officially be a former member of the Chicago Bears’ organization and a current member of the New York Jets’ organization.

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The Bears and Jets agreed to a trade on Friday that will send Marshall to New York in exchange for a fifth round draft selection.

There have been many reasons as to why the Bears have decided to trade Marshall. The two main reasons are that Marshall’s trade gives the Bears’ an additional $4 million in spending this off-season, and the other reason is that Bears’ general manager Ryan Pace and head coach John Fox decided that Marshall’s character was no longer a fit in the Bears’ locker room.

Regardless of the reasoning, the time was right for the Bears to trade Marshall.

For general manager Ryan Pace, the rookie general manager needed to insert his authority over the Bears’ roster. During his introductory press conference, Pace told reporters that he would have full control over the Bears’ roster decisions. The trade of Marshall proves that.

Pace’s decision to trade Marshall shows that the new Bears’ regime will not be afraid of their players. That could not be said about the previous regime. Between former Bears’ general manager Phil Emery and head coach Marc Trestman, Marshall was among the players that were allowed to do anything while facing little to no consequences.

To that end, Pat Boyle of CSN Chicago highlighted some of Marshall’s behavior that was not seen on camera.

Such behavior from Marshall that Boyle indicated was on display during the 2014 season is exactly why the Bears’ locker room was fractured last season. Marshall was treated with kid gloves and others had to walk on egg shells around him.

While speaking in his first two press conferences, Bears’ head coach John Fox indicated that the game of football as well as the team needs to be the priority for Bears’ players. Football and the Bears were not the priority for Marshall in 2014. Marshall has said in the past that he is not playing football to win a Super Bowl, rather, the veteran wide receiver is playing football to have a forum to further his own agenda.

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At times, Marshall’s agenda had a positive message. Marshall was heavily involved in mental health awareness as well as anti-bullying campaigns. But, there have been too many instances where Marshall’s bad press has outweighed his positive message.

Further more, Marshall was a false leader. Over the course of the past two seasons, there was a sense that Marshall had emerged as the leader of the Bears’ locker room. Marshall wanted his Bears’ teammates to follow him and he would lead the team to the Super Bowl. The only problem is that Marshall has yet to play in a NFL playoff game during his 10-year career.

On camera, Marshall certainly said all the right things. However, behind scenes, Marshall reportedly had a locker room outburst after the Bears’ loss to the Miami Dolphins on October 19. Marshall was also critical of Bears’ quarterback Jay Cutler following the team’s loss to Dallas Cowboys on December 4. The criticism of Cutler was warranted, but that is not something to expect from the perceived leader of a team.

NFL veteran offensive lineman Tony Pashos indicated that Marshall’s act is not healthy for a locker room.

After a five-win season in 2014, the Bears need a healthy locker room in 2015 under Fox. A healthy locker room may not represent an improvement on the field for the Bears, but it would mean less distractions. With less distractions, the focus will return to on the field and not the latest off-the-field drama.

Looking beyond the off-the-field reasoning for trading Marshall, the move will help the Bears address their off-season needs. Before the trade, the Bears were already at healthy spot by being $28 million under the salary cap. The trade of Marshall improves the Bears’ positioning even more as the team saves $4 million and now is $32 million under the salary cap.

Considering the plethora of needs that the Bears have on the defensive side of the ball, it goes without saying that Pace needs to utilize every dollar that is available to him this off-season.

To that point, the Bears also acquired a fifth round selection from the Jets for Marshall. Prior to the trade, the Bears were without a selection in the fifth round of the 2015 NFL Draft. The quickest way for a team to improve is through the NFL Draft. Pace has said as much this off-season and that is the reason why the general manager needs to take advantage of acquiring draft selections when he can.

This is also the off-season to be looking for a new primary wide receiver. Between a free agent class that is lead by Green Bay Packers’ wide receiver Randall Cobb and a draft class that is headed by Amari Cooper, there will be a number of wide receiver options available to the Bears. One could argue that the wide receiver position is not only the deepest position in the 2015 NFL Draft but also the deepest position in the 2015 free agency class.

Next: Bears Trade Brandon Marshall

In his time with the Bears, Marshall was the greatest wide receiver to have played for the team. After the 2015 season, Marshall’s time with the Bears was over and it was right for the team to move on from the veteran wide receiver.

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