Brandon Marshall Talks Bears
CHICAGO, IL - SEPTEMBER 07: Brandon Marshall #15 of the Chicago Bears questions an incomplete pass call at the end of the third quarter of their game against the Buffalo Bills at Soldier Field on September 7, 2014 in Chicago, Illinois.The call was challenged and overturned for a complete pass. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
The Chicago Bears traded Brandon Marshall and a seventh round pick to the New York Jets for a seventh round selection last offseason. In the months since, Brandon didn’t have a whole lot of compliments to share about his former team, and on Wednesday Brandon Marshall talks Bears during Super Bowl week.
“I think they knew there was relationships there that couldn’t continue to go forward,” Marshall said. “It wouldn’t have been best for the locker room. It wouldn’t have been best for the team. So they had to choose between situations.”
The relationship he is talking about is most likely the Jay Cutler, Brandon Marshall relationship. The one-time security blanket for Jay, and self proclaimed brother from another mother, turned sour on Cutler. There were multiple occasions in which Marshall blamed “some” players in the lockerroom of not caring enough, and the general thought is Marshall was specifically speaking about quarterback Jay Cutler.
Brandon was asked specifically about Cutler on multiple occasions and he would just reply Ryan Fitzpatrick is his quarterback. This is a long way from the Twitter crush that eventually developed into one of the most dangerous tandems in the league.
That duo accounted for the most prolific passing era the Bears had ever seen, but with the Marshall pointing fingers inside the lockerrom, calling out some for not dedicating themselves enough to the team, while he would fly out weekly to do his Showtime appearance on Inside The NFL.
That doesn’t scream that Brandon was 100% invested himself, and with strained relationships, a new regime, and a player that seemingly wears off his welcome in every city he finds himself in… Brandon was then shipped out.
Brandon didn’t stop there, he put his GM hat on as well. He began talking about Matt Forte and his contract status.
“Chicago needs to sign him back, man,” he said. “The thing that makes Chicago is the history, man. It’s family.
“When you walk into the building you can feel that special atmosphere with the rich history of the great coaches and great players,” he said. “But then you sat in there and you saw those guys and it’s like, ‘Man, this is the core.’ Matt Forte has been a part of that, and I feel that Chicago should step up and keep him there.
“That’s their guy. They drafted him. He’s not only a stud in the community, he’s a stud in the field. He still can do it.”
These are probably the tamest (if that’s a word) comments Brandon has had to date about the Bears and the breakup. Perhaps it is because he has learned a little from his year in another organization, perhaps it was just time to move on, or perhaps he’s calling out to the remaining guys he has left on the roster, reminding them off how the team has treated former great players in hopes of recruiting for the Jets? Or maybe he just realized he screwed up a good thing?
“When you look at how things happened, it’s sad, because that was my dream job,” he said. “I really enjoyed my time there. The city embraced me. It gave me a home. I still feel like it’s home. I still have a place there.”
Sure Brandon Marshall, his 1,500 receiving yards, his 14 TDs, and 109 catches would have been great to have in Chicago. But, his attitude, his opinion, his constant mouth became too much for the Bears and every other lockerrom he’s been in. While Brandon Marshall the guy has developed into a much better human, Brandon Marshall the teammate is still slow to catch up.
