It’s now pretty much official that Brandon Marshall is out of Chicago and he has no one to blame but himself. The 5-time Pro Bowler is coming off an injury riddled season where he grabbed 61 passes for 721 yards and 8 touchdowns.
If only it was Marshall’s poor play in 2015 that caused the Chicago Bears to part ways with the most productive wide receiver in their long history.
Editor’s note: this Brandon Marshall feature article authored by new Sports Bank contributor Wes Evans. (@WesEvans24)
The 30 year old receiver had a tumultuous season off the field and was unable to get out of the public spotlight…mainly because he decided to fly to New York every week for his appearance on Showtime’s “Inside the NFL.”
Marshall’s show was a point of contention with fans and the media because it added unwanted attention on the struggling Bears and their dysfunctional locker room. Whether it was between the Bears coaching staff and their players or the players themselves…the Bears 2014 season was a train wreck.
If only the Bears 5 – 11 record was the most embarrassing part of last season.
On September 18th, Marshall called a press conference to “clear the air” regarding an “E:60” interview he did with ESPN that “misrepresented” him regarding domestic violence. The Bears pleaded with Marshall to not talk about the interview during his press conference but their request fell on deaf ears.
Marshall rambled on for 48 minutes about court documents (which had been recanted) that showed he ‘was not to blame’ for his actions during his relationship with ex-girlfriend Rasheedah Watley.
When the dust settled, the Bears were humiliated and left in disbelief that Marshall dragged Watley thru the mud again. It was clear that the Bears had no control over the aging playmaker and the serious talks about getting rid of Marshall began.
If all that wasn’t enough to sway public perception in the Bears favor, Marshall decided to take to Twitter in November to fight a Lions fan that was being obnoxious. Marshall challenged the fan to a fight and offered him $25,000 to get in the ring. Any self-respecting organization cannot have one of their employees threatening to beat up somebody just because of a Twitter argument. This was another crack in the decaying relationship between Marshall and the Bears but the hiring of Ryan Pace and John Fox was Marshall’s swan song.
Pace and Fox met with many of the Bears players last week in Lake Forest, IL to gauge the temperature of the team. No one but Marshall, Fox and Pace know what was said in that meeting but rumors started to swirl after Marshall left Halas Hall.
Marshall has made it clear that his main focus is not football but that football was instead a platform for his other interests. Fox and Pace are “football guys” and to hear that one of their players was not totally focused on the 2015 season probably had something to do with Marshall’s departure.
No matter if you were a Brandon Marshall supporter or detractor, the Bears are moving in a different direction from the old regime and there are still more loose ends to tie up.
Don’t be surprised if there are massive changes in the next year or so… mainly the close friend of Brandon Marshall, Jay Cutler.