When the Miami Dolphins shipped Brandon Marshall to the Chicago Bears for a pair of third-round draft picks, the wideout didn't know what to make of the move.
He's warming up to it.
Miami's transition to a West Coast-style offense played a role in trading Marshall away, and he summed up the transaction as a win for his old team and his new one.
"It doesn't make any sense to pay a guy $2 million and only expect him to have 60 or 65 receptions, or 70 receptions in (Miami's) new offense," Marshall told WYGM-AM in Orlando, via the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
"Also, if you don't have a quarterback, it doesn't matter who you have out there. You can bring Jerry Rice back in his prime and he's not going to be effective. It makes sense on the business end, and also -- the fit as far as philosophy-wise just wasn't there. I can understand the change, and honestly this is the best move that could have happened for both sides."
Marshall can't help but feel at home in Chicago, reunited again with Jay Cutler. It's a dose of medicine for the Bears quarterback after enduring a subpar collection of wideouts in Chicago from the start. This year's roster offers hope.
Along with Marshall, the team picked up Alshon Jeffery in the second round of the draft. He arrives with question marks, but his red-zone production at South Carolina -- 23 career touchdowns -- improves Chicago's offense.
During his assessment of the trade, Marshall went out of his way to wish Miami the best. They might regret letting this one go.
