My bad, y'all. I whiffed on this one, writing Thursday night in my "5 landing spots for Brandon Marshall" that he would not land with the New York Jets. Whoops.
The Bears agreed to trade Marshall to New York on Friday, making yours truly look like a numbskull. I still stand by the logic that trading for Marshall as a team a ways away from contending is a risky move. But in thinking about it, lumping the Jets with the Jaguars and Raiders was foolish, given how Marshall fits with this team and market.
The Jets didn't have to pay much for him either, giving up a fifth-round pick. Let's look at five things to know about this deal. Well, six if you want to include me being a mah-roon ... and if you like hearing me say stupid things, listen to the Eye on Football Podcast below or Subscribe via iTunes.
1. Opening salvo: Bold first big move by new Jets general manager Mike Maccagnan, who better hope trading a late-round pick for a big-name wideout with a huge contract works out better for him than his predecessor. It should.
Marshall's more likely to succeed in New York than Percy Harvin, primarily because he's a "traditional" wide receiver. He's a physical, chain-moving wideout who will give Geno Smith an improved red-zone target.
Marshall becomes the Jets' true No. 1, which means Eric Decker slides to the No. 2 role, which he's much better suited for. Tight end Jace Amaro's ability to get open should improve as a result as well. If the Jets add C.J. Spiller in free agency, Chef Chan Gailey might have some ingredients to cook with come 2015.
2. Draft effect: We can probably rule out the Jets as potential suitors for either Kevin White of West Virginia or Amari Cooper of Alabama.
Now, they could still draft one of those guys at No. 6 overall, but spending big cap space on a wide receiver in a trade (when you've already got one big wideout contract in Decker on the roster) and then using your first-round pick on a receiver seems like an unlikely scenario.
It does bring Marcus Mariota into play though. Does Maccagnan view Geno Smith as the future of his franchise? He's not beholden to Smith, a holdover from John Idzik's short regime. Plucking Mariota at six would start the clock on his own tenure with a "franchise quarterback" but he could run Geno out for a year while Mariota learns. Gailey feels like a nice fit as offensive coordinator for Mariota too.
At the very least this puts the screws on Chip Kelly if he wants to fly up and grab Mariota for the Eagles. It looks like No. 6 might be the hurdle you have to clear.
3. Market moves: This is pretty decent for Randall Cobb, Jeremy Maclin and Andre Johnson. Marshall won't be released, so he won't hit the market, so he won't be competition for those guys. Cobb and Maclin are in a different class, sure, and Johnson hasn't been released yet. But if AJ is dumped by the Texans, he can squeeze a little more out of someone like the Colts with Marshall no longer being an option.
The Jets had a ton of cap space that won't be used on the market for a wideout, but they weren't seen as huge players in the free-agent WR market.
4. Future for Jay Cutler: Bears new GM Ryan Pace isn't playing around. Word was floated Thursday that Marshall was available via trade. By Friday at noon he was out the door (though the deal can't be consummated until Tuesday) for just a fifth-round pick. So what does this mean for Cutler? It means he's very much on the chopping block.
It's hard to imagine a scenario where Cutler is flat-out cut by the Bears but could be traded as well? Could they trade him TO NEW YORK? Please make this happen, football gods.
5. Inside the NFL: Marshall spent last season working for Showtime on the Emmy Award-winning series. But it was a little problematic for the Bears because he had to fly to New York and back to Chicago, etc. Now he'll be in the same city, likely living near the studios.
Whether or not he returns is actually beside the point: Marshall has kind of grown into a celebrity NFL player of sorts and a move to New York will only help his brand.
