Chicago Bears wide receiver Brandon Marshall feels better than he has in three years after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his hip in January. Now, the 2012 first-team All Pro is ready to return to the practice field.
Marshall tweeted Tuesday that he's been cleared to return to on-field activities.
Marshall missed seven sessions of organized team activities and three days of voluntary minicamp. The Bears have three more days of OTAs this week and a mandatory minicamp next week. Returning to the field should allow Marshall to begin taking reps in new head coach Marc Trestman's offense.
Establishing career highs across the board in 2012, Marshall turned in the most dominant statistical season by a wide receiver in franchise history. It also ranks with Randy Moss' 2007 and Harold Jackson's 1973 as the best seasons by a receiver after changing teams.
No player was targeted at a greater percentage than Marshall's 39.9 last season. In fact, Marshall lapped the field by nearly 8 percentage points. It will be interesting to see if that number sharply declines with a new coach calling the shots. Jay Cutler is too easy to defend when he only has eyes for one receiver.
Follow Chris Wesseling on Twitter @ChrisWesseling.