The Bears made good on their promise to “explore trade options” for Brandon Marshall, by trading him.
According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, they’ve dealt the mercurial wideout to the Jets.
The Colts and Browns had also shown interest, but the Jets make sense on a number of levels.
First, they need players. And his going to New York to tape a weekly television appearance won’t be as much of an issue when he’s already there.
The Bears were intent on getting out from under the $7.5 million guaranteed if he’d have been on the roster March 12, but at that salary and $7.9 million and $8.3 million for the following two years, he’s reasonable compared to what the top wideouts will get in free agency.
For the Jets, it gives them an established playmaker to put alongside Eric Decker, giving Geno Smith (or whoever’s playing quarterback) a better chance to succeed.
His numbers were down last year with injuries and an ineffective Jay Cutler, but he had 218 catches for 2,803 yards and 23 touchdowns the two previous years.