clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Chicago Bears wide receiver update: Marshall on leave and Bennett in trade talks

Chicago wide receivers Brandon Marshall and Earl Bennett are in the news today for very different reasons. One is taking a leave of absence, and the other is apparently on the trade block.

By Lester A. Wiltfong Jr.
Wesley Hitt

As reported by the Chicago Bears website, star wide out Brandon Marshall will take a leave of absence from the team until Sunday. Marshall's comments about his hip, and his comfort in the offense made headlines yesterday. After dropping a few catchable balls against the Raiders last Friday, Marshall may have allowed some frustration to bubble over.

When asked about Marshall skipping practice today, head coach Marc Trestman said the following;

"This was a planned-out miss today for personal reasons," said coach Marc Trestman. "We wanted to get him through practice, and I let him go for personal reasons, for something that's been part of the offseason plan since we started training camp."

When pressed if his absence was hip related, Trestman added;

"I'd rather just leave it to personal reasons out of respect to Brandon, but it's all good. As I've said when I've let guys go for personal reasons, I've said it's all good and this one is all good. It's not reflective of anything other than I gave him time off. He won't be there [Thursday]; he'll be back on Sunday."

Marc Trestman also said he wasn't concerned about Marshall not being comfortable in the offense, and that all he sees is a player "getting ready to play".

The Earl Bennett situation is a complicated one. Adam Schefter tweeted that the Bears are trying to trade the former Vanderbilt wide receiver.

It's tough to make trades this time of year, with so many cuts looming, but with Bennett not playing because of concussion symptoms, it makes it even harder.

This could just be Phil Emery doing his due diligence by testing the market, or this could mean the Bears are real happy with rookie Marquess Wilson.

I'm not sure what the market is for a receiver that has couple concussions in his history. The Bears may have a better chance of moving him during the season if he proves he's healthy and productive. But if he's healthy and productive, why trade him?

I'm sure the Bears have in mind the type of package they want in return, and if they don't get it, Earl will remain a Bear.

What are your thoughts on these recent developments?

UPDATE:

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Why is Brandon Marshall taking 4 days away from the <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23Bears&amp;src=hash">#Bears</a>? It&#39;s his previously scheduled follow-up appointment after offseason hip surgery</p>&mdash; Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapSheet/statuses/372824539618492416">August 28, 2013</a></blockquote>

<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

More from Windy City Gridiron:

Next Up In News