The popular saying goes to never judge a trade or draft pick or free agent signing until after a couple years. Doesn’t seem to matter though. People will spew all sorts of vile venom at GMs for making bold moves. Few understand this better than Ryan Pace of the Bears. His most recent bit of flak-catching came after his bold jump from #3 to #2 in the draft to grab quarterback Mitch Trubisky. However, his first real trial by fire came two years prior with his Brandon Marshall trade.
Critics were out in full force for that one. How could the Bears possibly justify letting go of a valuable offensive piece? Plenty of reasons were given: locker room stability, age, and money. None of them mattered. Some people are only obsessed with the numbers, and Marshall put up some good ones during his time in Chicago.
Trading him to the New York Jets for a fifth round pick seemed utterly maddening. Now it’s two years later and the Jets are in arguably worse shape than the Bears are. With Marshall already being gone to join the crosstown rival New York Giants. It took him that long to get himself run off another team.
The Brandon Marshall trade was actually damned savvy
Jacob Infante of Windy City Gridiron put things in a proper perspective. He explained how the short-term gain of one or two good statistical seasons wasn’t worth the total demise of locker room stability and team continuity. It’s a big reason why no team Marshall has played on has ever made the playoffs. Not once in his career. Is that a coincidence? Unlikely.
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“Marshall had been one of the best weapons in the league during that time, and the Bears only managed to get a Day 3 pick for him. On paper, that seems incredibly lopsided, right? Looking back on the deal, though, makes Ryan Pace seem like a genius.
Marshall went on to have arguably the best season of his career with the Jets in 2015. He caught 109 passes and had 1,502 receiving yards and a career-high 14 touchdowns. After that first year, the Bears came off as foolish and desperate to get rid of him. However, it went downhill fast for Marshall after that.
Fast forward another year, and Marshall is on another team. The Jets released him after what may have been his worst performance since his rookie season. Former teammate Sheldon Richardson recently threw some shade at him, hinting that the locker room is much better now that he’s gone. All of a sudden, that trade doesn’t seem too bad now, does it?”
Stay ahead of the curve
The incident in question was when the Jets defensive tackle stated the locker room was a lot easier to get along with this year. When inevitably asked why, his response was easy enough to decrypt.
He may be one of the most outspoken critics of Marshall’s locker room habits, but he’s far from the first. The mercurial receiver has made plenty of enemies across his long career. The Giants make his fifth NFL team. A stat that’s hard to believe considering he’s a six-time Pro Bowler. So maybe it’s time to give Pace a little credit for getting something in return.
