Brandon Marshall Says He Was Nearly Traded to the New England Patriots

Brandon Marshall revealed in a radio interview that he was almost traded to the New England Patriots prior to last season.

New York Jets wide receiver Brandon Marshall revealed today that he was almost a New England Patriot. Marshall told ESPN 100o’s Carman and Jurko Show that his former team, the Chicago Bears, had explored trade talks with New England prior to last season, although they never really went past preliminary discussions.

“There was an opportunity where [the Bears] could have traded me before the season. My agent and the Chicago Bears — there was a little tension on the contract stuff. I thought I was worth a little more and I ended up settling. There were a couple of teams that were offering more money, but hey, if I went [to New England] there is no telling what could have happened.”

This clearly didn’t happen, as the Bears moved him to the Jets in exchange for a fifth-round pick in March. Marshall also revealed in the interview that he hasn’t spoken to former teammate Jay Cutler since the trade.

Marshall has been one of the most productive wide receivers in the NFL throughout his career, piling up career numbers of 771 receptions, 9,771 receiving yards and 75 receiving touchdowns. Before moving to the Jets, Marshall spent three years in Chicago, surpassing 100 catches in the first two before struggling with injuries last year. Prior to Chicago, the five-time Pro Bowler had stints with the Miami Dolphins and Denver Broncos.

Marshall on the Patriots would have been very intriguing, and with Tom Brady at the helm, Marshall likely would have posted some monster numbers. Brady would have been by far the best signal caller that Marshall had ever played for, a step up from the inconsistencies of Cutler. While Julian Edelman and Danny Amendola have been very productive players, Brady has lacked a receiver as physically gifted as Marshall in recent years. It would be easy to envision the 6’4″ Marshall providing the missing element to the Patriots’ passing attack, and he would have made a nice red zone complement to Rob Gronkowski.

Instead, Marshall landed on the Jets, where he’ll have Geno Smith throwing him the ball. That’s about as big of a drop off as you can imagine. However, if Smith can build off his disastrous rookie year, Marshall, Eric Decker and speedy rookie Devin Smith should form a nice trio of weapons.

Marshall will still get to visit New England once a year when his Jets come to town. The Jets travel to Foxboro to meet the Patriots on October 25.

Next: 30 best wide receivers in NFL history

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