Bears wide receiver Brandon Marshall joined the crew on ESPN's Sunday NFL Countdown Sunday afternoon and flashed his smile when asked about the Bears signing of Jay Cutler last week through the 2020. He's excited to know he will be catching passes from Cutler for as long as he is in Chicago.
Marshall already knows the importance of Cutler to his career. The two started their careers together in Denver and Marshall shined. Then when Cutler got traded to the Bears, Marshall never saw the same success in Denver or Miami. When the Bears traded to reunite him with Cutler, the two rekindled their great partnership prior to the 2012 season.
Marshall has been an all-pro both years he has been with the Bears and seven more years of Cutler speaks to the connection and chemistry to the two of them have on the field.
Marshall has 218 catches in his two seasons with the Bears for 2,803 yards and 23 touchdowns, according to Pro Football Reference. He became the first Bears receiver with 10 touchdowns in back to back seasons in team history and his 23 TDs already have him ranked in the top 10 in team history.
Pair him with the breakout Alshon Jeffery had this season with his 89 catches for 1,421 yards and seven touchdown and the Bears have one of the top duos in the NFL as weapons for the quarterback they have secured for the next seven years.
Jeffery set team records for yards in a game twice this season, breaking his own record he set against the Saints, against the Vikings December 1 with 248 yards. His arrival made he and Marshall just the second receiving duo in Bears history to go over 1,000 yards each, beating out the 1995 tandem of Jeff Graham and Cutis Conway.
The complaint I heard from most people was that Josh McCown had an equal part in pushing the Bears offense to the next level. That very fact may have been the same one that pushed General Manager Phil Emery and coach Marc Trestman to bring Cutler back. Seeing the success McCown had and seeing the potential in Cutler with more tools to get the job done makes it appealing to see how Cutler can lead this offense.
Marshall will turn 30 this offseason and has one year remaining on his contract. You have to think it's a slam dunk he stays with the Bears beyond that. With Jeffery in just his second year in the NFL is coming into his own. Matt Forte had career highs for rushing yards this season and made another Pro Bowl. Add in Martelus Bennet's production as a tight end in this offense and Trestman has weapons all around the field for Cutler to deliver to.
As is seen around the NFL, you can have weapons and with no quarterback, they are useless. The opposite was seen in Chicago in the first years of the "Cutler era" where he had no weapons and seemed to take the entire offense on himself. Now they are together and the sky seems to be the limit in their production going forward.
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