SoMnFan
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Continuing their roster purge, the New York Jets intend to release wide receiver Brandon Marshall, sources told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter on Thursday night.
The move comes only one year after he re-wrote the franchise record book for receiving. The team informed Marshall weeks ago that it was interested in having him back for 2017, a source said. In fact, it was willing to give him a contract extension, another source told Schefter.
In the end, the team granted Marshall's wish to play elsewhere. The Jets are rebuilding with young players, and Marshall, who turns 33 on March 23, is looking for a better fit, according to a source.
Marshall joined Darrelle Revis, Nick Mangold, Breno Giacomini and Nick Folk as off-season, salary-cap casualties, as the Jets -- coming off a 5-11 season -- attempt a youth movement. They've cleared more than $45 million this offseason in cap space.
The Jets saved $7.5 million by parting ways with Marshall, who was due to earn $7.5 million in the final year of his contract. Marshall said at the end of the season that he hopes to play several more years.
In 2015, Marshall was voted by the Jets as the team MVP, as he set the franchise record for catches (109) and receiving yards (1,502) in a season. From there, the well-traveled veteran suffered perhaps his worst season in 2016, managing only 59 catches, 788 yards and three touchdowns.
Undermined, in part, by poor quarterback play, his catch percentage (receptions/targets) was only 46.7 percent, 143rd among 144 qualifying players.
The Jets evidently felt Marshall was expendable because they have promising young talent at receiver, including Quincy Enunwa and Robby Anderson. But his departure leaves them without a proven No. 1 target.
Eric Decker was a 1,000-yard receiver for the Jets in 2015, but his status is up in the air because of health reasons. He underwent hip and rotator-cuff shoulder last season, and it's unclear when he will return. There's a good chance he will miss training camp.
The Jets acquired Marshall in 2015 from the Chicago Bears, costing them only a fifth-round pick. It was hailed as one of the best trades of the offseason, helping general manager Mike Maccagnan win NFL Executive of the Year. Marshall distanced himself from his reputation as a locker-room cancer, but there were a couple of flare ups last season. He and teammate Sheldon Richardson engaged in a heated argument following the Week 3 loss in Kansas City.
That incident became a turning point for the Jets, players said, as they lost their next three games to ruin the season. Cornerback Darrelle Revis said the Marshall-Richardson altercation, which created hard feelings between them, cast "a black cloud" over the team.
Marshall is one of the most prolific receivers in the game -- only 59 receptions shy of 1,000 -- but he has yet to reach the postseason in his 11-year career.
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