Alot of people are screaming about this. While I'm a few credits shy of my Football Degree, here's my thoughts:
Brandon Marshal was drafted in the 4th round by the Broncos. During his time with them, he was injured alot, including cutting his arm up bad while "slipping on a McDonalds bag" while wrestling with some family members. He also was suspended for drunk driving and domestic violence chargers, and ended up being benched at the end of his time there for more off the field shenanigans. He finished up that year in the top 10 in most of the stats for WR in the league. Denver trades him at age 25 for 2, 2nd Round Draft picks in 2 different years to the Dolphins.
2010, Dolphins then sign him to a 4 year deal the day he's traded. He spends 2010 and 2011 with them, playing well with no other shenanigans I am aware of. They trade him in 2012 to the Bears for 2, 3rd Round picks in 2 different years at age 27.
He comes into Chicago and is great on the field. He begins his career here on the right foot, addressing his previous issues and impressing everyone. For all intents and purposes, he's great all around in 2012 and 2013. 2014 hits....
In 2014, he is yelling at other players while he's dropping passes himself. He's hurt and isn't able to play how he wants and we all know he can play. He has a REALLY stupid press conference to talk about his past, and is quoted as saying that winning a Super Bowl isn't his top priority. He starts branching out into doing some TV shows here and there as well. 1 year after being signed to another big contract, he's traded at age 30 for a 5th round pick.
Brandon Marshall in his first 2 seasons was a great Chicago Bear. In 2014, the team implodes and Brandon seems to slide into some old traits. My thought is that Marshall is great when things are going his way and the team is doing well. As soon as his team becomes bad (which it was) he doesn't handle it well. He then turns to showing cracks in the team, and ends up making some poor decisions. I'm betting that the FO sat down with him, found out where his head was at, and realized that this wasn't going to work, and decided to send him off. He might have a great season with the Jets and they'll look stupid. Or he declines as he gets older, and they look like genius'.
For those of you who didn't listen to him on ESPN when he was on with Waddle and Silvy, I distinctly remember him saying over and over again that Marc Trestman was the best coach he's ever played for, and the coaching staff of the Bears was the best he ever played for. The same staff that couldn't figure out how to run the ball with Matt Forte. The same staff that couldn't figure out you need to keep Cutler's throws around 50% of the plays or less for him to succeed. The same staff that can't figure out the Defense. The same staff that kept running the same Offensive plays over and over to the point the Packers literally laughed at our formations on the field when they all lined up. The same coaching staff that produced an OC who throws Cutler under the bus and then isn't disciplined when he comes out and admits it. The same coaching staff that would say "Man, practice is great and this team is in a great place!" after losing games by 50 points.
Brandon put himself in this situation. I think it's smart by the FO to get SOMETHING for him now, rather than nothing for him later and then are stuck with his contract. For 2 years he was great. His last year, not so much. His thought process that this was the best coaching staff he's worked for makes me take a little pause with the praise of him being a part of this team moving forward. I wish him luck with the Jets, but if they aren't any good this year I have a feeling Pace and Fox are going to look like the smartest men in the room at that point....