What Brandon Marshall Trade Means for Bears and Dolphins Rosters
Published by Gary Davenport on March 13, 2012
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears
The 2012 National Football League “year” officially began at 4 p.m. Eastern Tuesday, but instead of a big-name free-agent signing taking the spotlight, the league was rocked by a blockbuster trade involving the Chicago Bears and Miami Dolphins.
Mercurial wide receiver Brandon Marshall of the Dolphins was dealt by Miami to Chicago on Tuesday in a trade that should have Bears fans jumping for joy, according to a report in the Chicago Sun-Times.
The Bears have packaged two third-round draft picks to the Miami Dolphins to acquire Brandon Marshall, hooking Cutler up with the big target he’s sought since he arrived here. Jay Glazer of Fox Sports first reported the news. Marshall, 27, comes from the Miami Dolphins where he caught 81 passes for 1,214 yards and six touchdowns last season.
The 6-4 Marshall instantly gives the Bears’ offense, now under first-year coordinator Mike Tice, a big-time playmaker. The Bears had an extra third-round pick in this year’s draft from the Panthers for the Greg Olsen trade. It’s not known what specific picks were sent to the Dolphins.
The trade reunites Marshall and quarterback Jay Cutler, who enjoyed some success together when they both played for the Denver Broncos, and as the Sun-Times said, Marshall will provide the Bears with the No. 1 wideout that the team has lacked since Cutler’s arrival in 2009.
Marshall, who had 81 receptions for 1,214 yards and six touchdowns in 2011, carries a $10.4 million salary cap hit with him to the Windy City, and that price tag is likely significantly lower than the salary that free-agent wide receiver Vincent Jackson is likely to command on the open market, which makes the deal look all the better given that Marshall is two years younger.
However, that $10 million represents nearly half of Chicago’s available cap space, and while the Bears should be pleased to have been able to require a go-to target for Cutler in the Bears passing game Marshall’s salary may put a serious dent in Chicago’s ability to pursue defensive end Mario Williams of the Houston Texans, a player in who the Bears were said to have considerable interest.
As to the Dolphins, it’s rather hard to figure out what their plan may have been, unless the team has so soured on Marshall over his two years with the club that they saw the chance to be rid of the temperamental wide receiver and jumped at it given Marshall’s innumerable off-field problems over the years.
It’s possible, however, that the Dolphins may have other plans in mind, as Marshall Faulk suggested during the NFL Network‘s coverage of free agency Tuesday.
The Hall-of-Fame running back posited that the Dolphins could be both clearing cap space and a potential roadblock to Miami signing free-agent quarterback Peyton Manning. Faulk theorized that the Dolphins could be paving the way for an “Indianapolis South” scenario, where wide receiver Reggie Wayne and perhaps tight end Dallas Clark would join Manning in South Florida.
That theory gains a little credence from a report Monday that Manning might not favor playing with Marshall given his prima donna reputation, and it’s possible that Manning may have even stated those reservations himself when he met with Dolphins head coach Joe Philbin Monday evening.
However, even if that were the case, this would be a ridiculously risky move, as the last time I checked, Manning hasn’t signed so much as a cocktail napkin with the Dolphins, and should he land elsewhere, not only would Miami have no starting quarterback, but they will have then jettisoned their top receiving weapon for 25 cents on the dollar as well.
It’s possible that later developments may change my view of this trade, but at first glance, it appears that the Miami Dolphins came out of this trade Downy-fresh, because the Chicago Bears just took them to the cleaners.
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