Rich Cimini, ESPN Staff Writer 9y

Brandon Marshall trade worthwhile risk for Jets

A few takeaways on the New York Jets' agreement to acquire wide receiver Brandon Marshall from the Chicago Bears:

1. The Jets are replacing one pain in the butt (Percy Harvin) with another, but the trade makes sense because Marshall is a more talented pain in the butt than Harvin -- and he'll cost less, too. Marshall has three years, $24.3 million left on his contract, including $7.7 million this season. Harvin has four years, $41.5 million left on his deal, including a non-guaranteed $10.5 million this year. Basically, the Jets upgraded their receiving corps with a five-time Pro Bowl wideout, saving $2.8 million in the process. The downside: Marshall, who turns 31 on March 23, is four years older than Harvin.

2. Adios, Percy. Once Marshall passes his physical to complete the trade, the Jets will likely release Harvin, whom former general manager John Idzik hailed as a "potential coup" when he traded for him last October. To complete that deal, they would send a sixth-round pick to Seattle, where Harvin disrupted team chemistry. That pick would escalate to a fourth-rounder if he's on the Jets' roster on March 19, but that seems far-fetched.

3. The Jets reportedly will send a fifth-round pick to the Bears. So they would walk away from this Harvin-Marshall swap still holding a fourth-round pick, but without their fifth- and sixth-rounders.

4. This is the first splashy move for the Mike Maccagnan-Todd Bowles regime, a strong indication they will take an aggressive approach to rebuilding a team that finished 4-12. Bowles played an instrumental role in this trade because he's familiar with the enigmatic Marshall, who tends to wear out his welcome because of his "me" personality. Bowles was on the Miami Dolphins' staff during Marshall's two-year run in South Florida and presumably knows what he's getting.

5. The Marshall-Geno Smith dynamic will be fascinating. Marshall can be tough on his quarterbacks (why else would he be traded three times?), and you have to wonder how he'll respond when Smith (assuming he's the starter) sails a few passes over his head. Smith isn't the confrontational type -- he's more of an introvert -- so it'll be a relationship that bears watching.

6. This trade shows the Jets didn't like what was available in the free-agent market -- or maybe they weren't willing to pay what it will take to land a receiver such as Randall Cobb or Jeremy Maclin. The upside to the Marshall situation is that only this year's salary ($7.5 million base) is guaranteed, meaning they can cut bait after a year if it doesn't work out. In other words, they could be faced with another Harvin-like decision next year. This also means they probably won't take a receiver with the sixth overall pick in the draft, allowing them to focus on defense or a quarterback.

7. A Marshall-Eric Decker tandem gives the Jets their best receiving corps since 2010, when they had Santonio Holmes and Braylon Edwards. At 6-foot-4, Marshall should help in the red zone, the Jets' Achilles' heel. The one thing they don't have, though, is a true burner to stretch the field. You can't argue with Marshall's production, though. From 2007 to 2013, he was second in the league in catches (692) and second in receiving yards (8,741). His numbers dropped last season, but he played with a variety of injuries. He was hampered by an ankle injury much of the early season and he ended on injured reserve with two fractured ribs and a collapsed lung.

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