Quarterback Jay Cutler has re-signed with the Bears, answering one of the biggest offseason questions in Chicago before the offseason really had a chance to get going.
Wide receiver Brandon Marshall is a big fan of the decision to hold onto the man who has thrown him passes in both Denver and Chicago, saying that “whenever you have change, it always sets back the organization.” Marshall also looks forward to improving on what he and Cutler have done in the past.
“I’m going to have my best year ever next year,” Marshall said on NFL Network, via the Chicago Tribune. “I’m going to be healthy; I have a healthy offseason, I don’t have to get any surgeries. I didn’t even have a chance to prepare last year; I hit my stride Week 9, Week 10 in the season. Now I get a whole offseason. I really believe it’s going to be my best year ever.”
Marshall posted 100 catches for 1,295 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2013, numbers that were only slightly down from his 2012 season and were good enough to make you wonder what Marshall might have pulled off if he’d hit his stride a little bit earlier. The prospect of Marshall having his best year in an offense that also has Alshon Jeffery and Matt Forte also makes the mind reel a bit, but it wouldn’t change the outlook for the Bears all that much.
Offense, after all, wasn’t the reason why the Bears finished 8-8 and an upgraded defense will be necessary for better days in Chicago even if the fireworks continue unabated on that side of the ball.