Bears wide receiver Brandon Marshall made some waves last week when he said that he was frustrated by the state of his recovery from hip surgery and by the fact that he was “being pushed a little bit” to practice and play in the preseason.
Marshall then took a four-day excused absence from the team that extend through the weekend. Marshall returned to the team on Monday and told reporters that he had a checkup on his hip that seems to have lessened some of the negative feelings he expressed last week.
“I’m always concerned about my body. It doesn’t matter if it’s a little scratch, I’m always concerned,” Marshall said, via Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune. “So coming off my third hip surgery, structurally, everything is good. The joint is in amazing shape. So that’s exciting.”
Marshall said there may still be moments of frustration with the hip in the future, but overall painted a much brighter picture than he painted during his last visit with the media. General Manager Phil Emery said the same, telling the media that he thought Marshall looked even better than he did last year.
Given Marshall’s production in 2012 -- 118 catches, 1,508 yards and 11 touchdowns -- that should be a good thing for the Bears offense as they try to make the playoffs in Marc Trestman’s first year as head coach.