Chicago has traded Brandon Marshall to the Jets, a second big fantasy trade of the week. Not quite up there with LeSean McCoy going to Buffalo, but one with plenty of relevance. It will affect the Bears and the Jets.
For Chicago, its receiving corps goes from a strength to probably a weakness. They’ve got Alshon Jeffery, who’s big time, but after that, not much of anything. They’re hoping Marquess Wilson can continue to develop and grow into something, but he’s not there yet. They’ll need to add some quality hands in the draft or free agency. They do have pass-catching talent at tight end (Martellus Bennett) and running back (Matt Forte) which softens the blow.
For the Jets, they’ve now got a surprisingly nice group of receivers. They’ve got the two big former Denver receivers (Marshall and Eric Decker), and they drafted a pass-catching tight end in the second round last year – Jace Amaro. So there’s really no excuse for New York’s quarterback not to have some passing success, whether that’s Geno Smith or somebody else.
The Bears received only a fifth-round pick for Marshall, but this trade was more about getting rid of his contract – it gives Chicago some cap room to work with in free agency.
With the deal, the Jets will let Percy Harvin walk. He’ll become a free agent when free agency opens next week.
We’ll see what they do at quarterback, but this could be enough to help New York works its way out of the bottom 10 in passing.
I don’t expect it will happen in 2015, but Marshall has a chance to become the first player to go over 1,000 receiving yards with four different teams. Tony Martin was the first to do this (and give him some credit – he played in Super Bowls with two teams), and it’s also been achieved by Terrell Owens and Randy Moss.
| 1,000 YARDS WITH THREE TEAMS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Receiver | Tm1 | Tm2 | Tm3 |
| Tony Martin | S.D. | Atl. | Mia. |
| Terrell Owens | S.F. | Phil. | Dall. |
| Randy Moss | Min. | Oak. | N.E. |
| Brandon Marshall | Den. | Mia. | Chi. |
—Ian Allan