New England Patriots: Pros and Cons of Pursuing Brandon Marshall
By Nick Ziegler
Brandon Marshall of the New York Jets was recently released. What are the pros and cons of the New England Patriots pursuing him?
It wasn’t too surprising to see Brandon Marshall released by the New York Jets. With a desire to win, the New England Patriots will certainly be on the radar of Marshall this offseason.
Even though Marshall has had a great career, he has never played in a playoff game. As a veteran, Marshall wants to win, and a team like the Patriots would give him a chance to do so. Like all free agents, there are pros and cons for the Patriots if they were interested in Marshall.
As a possible Hall-of-Fame wide receiver, there are a lot of reasons to like Marshall. In 11 seasons, Marshall has totaled 941 receptions, 12,061 receiving yards, and 82 receiving touchdowns.
As recently as 2015, Marshall was able to have a monster season for the Jets. In his first season in New York, he totaled 109 receptions, 1,502 receiving yards, and 14 receiving touchdowns.
Even though Marshall had a great 2015 season, he wasn’t able to come close to those numbers in 2016. As the Jets struggled, so did many players on their team. Even though Marshall is a great wide receiver, he wasn’t able to avoid a down season. In 2016, Marshall totaled 59 receptions, 788 receiving yards, and three receiving touchdowns.
While that down season could be solely because of the poor quarterback situation, it could also be an indication of a slip in Marshall’s game. There were a lot of drops by Marshall in 2016, which could be attributed to him trying to do too much before catching the ball.
As of now, the Patriots are in pretty good shape at wide receiver. However, if they decide not to bring Michael Floyd back, Marshall could be an option. The Patriots would likely want Marshall to give up his gig with Showtime. They also wouldn’t break the bank for him.
It will be interesting to see if the Patriots pursue Marshall and if New England is a destination that appeals to him. If last season was just a down season, the addition of a player like Marshall would make the Patriots’ offense very scary.