And we’re off. In a major way.
The new league year is open, and the Dolphins have fired the first shot. Jay Glazer of FOX reports that they have traded receiver Brandon Marshall to the Bears for a 2012 third-round pick and a 2013 third-round pick.
The move reunites Marshall with quarterback Jay Cutler. The spent three years together in Denver.
Also in Chicago is quarterbacks coach Jeremy Bates, who worked with Cutler and Marshall in Denver.
It also clears Marshall out of Miami, in advance of the potential arrival of Peyton Manning, whom some believed had misgivings about playing with Marshall.
So it’s sort of like reverse-Peyton bait.
The Dolphins gave up two second-round picks to get Marshall in 2010. He has five straight 1,000-yard receiving seasons, and he was the MVP of the 2012 Pro Bowl, with four touchdown receptions.