Already traded three times in his nine-year career, Brandon Marshall narrowly missed out on what could’ve been his highest-profile transaction.
In an appearance on ESPN 1000, the Jets wideout said he was nearly traded to the Patriots before last season, writes Adam Jahns of the Chicago Sun-Times.
The Bears pondered trading Marshall but instead gave the now-31-year-old receiver a three-year, $30MM extension last May. They ultimately trading Marshall to the Jets this offseason after acquiring him in 2012. Marshall, who saw his streak of seven consecutive 1,000-yard seasons end last year, preferred to remain in Chicago for the remainder of his career.
Elsewhere around the league on Friday night …
- New Bears offensive coordinator Adam Gase, while praising Matt Forte‘s fitness level, said his old charge in the backfield, C.J. Anderson, had to be subbed out frequently due to being “a little chubby” sometimes. The Broncos’ newfound starter told 9News‘ Mike Kils that his weight issues are nothing new. “Hey, everybody knows I’m a weight guy,” Anderson told Klis. “My body can go up and down.” The Broncos‘ offense became increasingly reliant on Anderson last season despite the former undrafted performer hovering on the fourth level of the depth chart during training camp due to his inconsistent shape status.
- In a lengthy ESPN piece on Chip Kelly‘s enigmatic offseason, one NFL executive told ESPN.com’s Ashley Fox he saw merit in the Eagles coach’s madness and did not agree with the Bills‘ decision to immediately extend LeSean McCoy. “He had an impressive five-year run, but measure it statistically,” the executive said. “Over time, most running backs have a five- to six-year run, then they decline relatively precipitously. They don’t become bums overnight, and they don’t fall off the cliff, but Buffalo made an extremely stupid mistake extending him. They should’ve played it out. He will not earn that money.” Buffalo tacked three years onto McCoy’s contract, which is now a five-year deal worth $40MM, shortly after acquiring him from Philadelphia.
- Following Dante Fowler Jr.‘s torn ACL that’s expected to sideline him for the season, the Florida Times-Union’s Ryan O’Halloran looks at the team’s remaining candidates to play the “Leo” defensive end in Gus Bradley‘s 4-3 scheme. Chris Clemons now goes from third-down rush specialist to every-down player, while 2012 second-rounder Andre Branch escapes the roster bubble with much more playing time available, notes O’Halloran.