Bears Blitz

Published by Bob Warja on March 13, 2012
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears acquired a true No. 1 wide receiver on the first official day of free agency, trading two third-round picks to the Miami Dolphins for former Jay Cutler wideout Brandon Marshall.

According to sources on ESPN, the Bears will give up one of their two third-round picks in this year’s draft, and their third-rounder in next year’s draft in exchange for Marshall, who had 81 receptions for 1,214 yards in 2011.

The Bears haven’t had a wideout accumulate 1,000 yards receiving since Marty Booker in 2002.

Boy are my readers smart! Several of you (you know who you are) suggested this trade a while ago, and I scoffed at it because I didn’t think Miami would move Marshall for two third-rounders when they gave up more than that to get him.

I figured this was merely speculation based on some tweeting between Cutler and Marshall.

But look, this is a happy day for Bears fans. With this move, they not only solved their biggest need, they got a guy who has a great working relationship with their QB.

Marshall is only 28 and under team control for the next three seasons. He will once again be a big target for Cutler, as he was when the two played together in Denver.

Marshall may be the best wide receiver in Bears history. Yes, really.

By reuniting Cutler with Marshall and QB coach Jeremy Bates, the Bears are bringing the old band back together. Now, if we can just get a legitimate left tackle, Cutler should be ecstatic.

Yet as much as I love this deal, I hope the Bears don’t scratch their plans to draft a wideout. Alternatively, they could still hit the free agent market for one of the secondary receivers, such as Robert Meachem, though that is unlikely now.

However, what this trade means is that the Bears will not draft a wideout with their first-round pick. Instead, I feel they will go for a cornerback or a defensive end if they can’t acquire Mario Williams.

And here we go—the main result of this move will likely be an all-out attempt at signing “Super Mario,” who will be very expensive.

The Bears were said to be interested in Williams even before this trade, but now that they’ve made this move and won’t be going after Vincent Jackson, their cap space is open to making a run at Mario.

Williams is two years younger than Julius Peppers and would give Chicago a studly combination at each end position for several years.

So, let’s see how all this stacks up now. The Bears won’t be drafting a WR in the first round, nor will they be going after a top-tier WR in free agency.

But they will take a run at Williams, and since the free agency period has officially begun, let’s hope that Phil Emery is already on the phone with his agent with a big wad of cash in hand.

Oh, and don’t stop now, we still need another wideout.

Let the games begin!

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