Bears will send Marshall to Jets
Chicago receives a draft pick in return
Brandon Marshall is on the move, heading from the Chicago Bears to the New York Jets.
A person familiar with the deal said the Jets agreed to acquire the star wide receiver Friday, pending a physical exam.
The trade, the first by new Jets general manager Mike
Maccagnan, is for an unspecified draft pick, according to the source. The trade cannot become official until the National Football League’s new league year begins Tuesday.
Marshall, who turns 31 on March 23, has played the last three seasons with the Bears. He dealt with injuries and had 61 catches last season, his lowest total since his rookie year with Denver in 2006, for 721 yards and eight touchdowns.
The Bears will save $7.7 million by dealing Marshall, and also create nearly $4 million
in salary cap space. He is signed through 2017, but the final two years aren’t guaranteed — meaning the Jets could re-evaluate the move after the 2015 season.
Lynch will return: Marshawn
Lynch is coming back to the Seattle Seahawks under a restructured contract for the 2015 season that will pay him $12 million, according to his agent, Doug Hendrickson.
Lynch agreed to his new deal after meeting with Seahawks officials. Hendrickson said the deal adds two more years to Lynch’s existing contract that went through the 2015 season, but gives him a significant pay increase for next season.
Lynch is coming off arguably the best season of his career. He scored a career-high 17 total touchdowns, including 13 rushing.
Wayne, Colts part ways: Indianapolis gave Reggie Wayne the answer he didn’t want to hear. They don’t want him back. Calling it a sad day, team owner Jim Irsay announced that the Colts would part ways with one of the greatest receivers in franchise history. Wayne will become an unrestricted free agent next week.
Despite having one of the most storied careers in franchise history, the 36-year-old Wayne was slowing down.
He missed the last nine games in 2013 with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee and was hobbled during the second half of last season with a torn left triceps. The result: His record streak of 82 consecutive games with three or more catches ended in December. In Indy’s three playoff games, Wayne had one catch for 12 yards.
The other Marshall makes news: Brandon Marshall the linebacker figured he made quite a name for himself with a breakout season as the Denver Broncos’ top tackler last year.
That hasn’t stopped people from confusing the Brandon Marshall who makes a living hitting people with the Brandon Marshall who makes millions catching passes.
When rumors began swirling that the Chicago Bears’ star wide receiver was about to get traded to the Jets, the Broncos’ Brandon Marshall started getting plenty of misdirected tweets welcoming him to the Big Apple.
But the linebacker wasn’t going anywhere. The Broncos tendered the fourth-year pro as an exclusive rights restricted free agent, which means he’ll get a bump in pay to $585,000.
Panthers sign Oher: The Carolina Panthers signed free-agent offensive tackle
Michael Oher to a two-year contract. The Tennessee Titans released Oher on Feb. 5.
Oher, the subject of the popular movie “The Blind Side,” gives the Panthers an experienced option at left tackle.