Wide receiver Brandon Marshall has rarely had problems on the football field since entering the NFL in 2006.
He’s posted at least 81 catches and 1,014 receiving yards every year since 2007 whether he’s been playing for the Broncos, Dolphins or Bears. At some points early in his career, though, it looked like there might be off-field issues that would stand in the way of prolonged success. Those have mostly faded into memory since Marshall arrived in Chicago and he told Michael C. Wright of ESPN.com that they won’t be popping up again in the future even though he knows that nothing will ever be perfect.
“I found that interesting that there is a thought about me reverting back. But I always tell people that’s just part of the journey, especially for a young man given so much freedom, so much fame, so much fortune,” Marshall said. “That’s part of the journey, to make mistakes. But the problem is you make your mistakes in the public’s eye. People look at me like, ‘Is this an act?’ I know you believe in me, but some people will say, ‘Is it an act?’ or ‘It’s only going to last for so long.’ But I’m actually growing, every single day. This is the new me. This is who I am. So there isn’t any reverting back. But I do make mistakes. I’m pretty much still in the same exact situation. I just look at life differently and my approach is different. There’s some things out there I still need to work on.”
Marshall has been an advocate for mental health issues in recent years and he’s trying to help former Dolphins teammate Davone Bess after Bess had a series of troubling incidents last year that have derailed his career. Marshall also talked about helping younger members of the Bears make their way into the professional ranks, something that didn’t seem like it would be part of Marshall’s portfolio a few years ago.