One day after Brandon Marshall raised questions about the status of his surgically repaired hip, the Chicago Bears wide receiver has been giving a respite.
Bears coach Marc Trestman told reporters that Marshall's absence from Wednesday's practice marked the beginning of a four-day excused rest from team activities.
"This was a planned-out miss today for personal reasons," Trestman said, per Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune. "I let him go for personal reasons. But something that has been part of the offseason plan since training camp started."
Trestman refused to link Marshall's absence to his health, saying: "I'd rather just leave it to personal reasons out of respect to Brandon. But it's all good. When I let guys go for personal reasons, it's all good."
NFL.com's Ian Rapoport reported Wednesday that Marshall left the team to attend a previously scheduled, post-surgery, follow-up appointment. On Tuesday, Marshall told reporters he wasn't fully recovered from January's arthroscopic procedure, his third hip surgery since 2009.
"People might think I need to be farther on than where I am," Marshall said. "So it's a little frustrating not being where I want to be right now and maybe being pushed a little."
Marshall's agent, Kennard McGuire, told Rapoport that the wide receiver "is accustomed to executing and playing at a high level" and "anything short of that or less than elite is completely unacceptable." McGuire went on to say Marshall's absence indeed was planned and any implication otherwise is not true.
Trestman repeatedly downplayed Marshall's absence, but tight end Martellus Bennett acknowledged the pass-catcher is discouraged with his offseason recovery process:
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