For such a talented wide receiver, Brandon Marshall sure moved around a lot. He played for nearly 20% of the NFL's 32 teams, covering the East Coast with stints for both New York teams, the South with the Dolphins, the Midwest with the Bears, the Southwest with the Broncos and the Northwest with the Seahawks. He's played for some very talented quarterbacks, and he's played for some not-so-talented quarterbacks. He's ran routes with some phenomenally talented receivers by his side, and he's experienced being the clear-cut star in an offense.
In other words, he's experienced a lot of different NFL settings. On Wednesday morning, the latest episode of the RADIO.COM and Cadence13 podcast "The Boardroom: Out of Office" revealed which of those was his favorite: the New York Jets.
"It was, bro," Marshall said. "Oh my goodness. Fitzmagic. He made it fun. You've got to think about... there was no expectation. Everybody thought we were gonna suck, and that was a magical year. Just being with the guys and how we won games."
Though there are a lot of campaigns to choose from, Marshall's best may have come in 2015, his first season with the Jets. He posted 109 receptions, 1,502 yards and a league-high 14 touchdowns. In doing so, he earned his sixth Pro Bowl nomination and his eighth 1,000-yard season: a historic feat given the circumstances under which it came.
The Jets went 10-6, their only winning season of the past 10 years considering the chances of that have already gone out the door in 2020. Marshall's supporting cast found a ton of success. Ryan Fitzpatrick recorded his career highs in passing yards (3,905) and passing touchdowns (31). Though he was undoubtedly able to do so because of Marshall's dominance, it didn't hurt that Eric Decker (1,027 yards, 12 touchdowns) served as his WR2. Chris Ivory earned Pro Bowl recognition with a strong season, rushing for over 1,000 yards and scoring eight total touchdowns.
As much fun as Marshall had that season, he also blames the Jets for tearing apart their core after an unsuccessful season in 2016.
"It was myself, Eric Decker, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Bilal Powell and Matt Forte, and again, offense was just tremendous," Marshall said. "I'll have 100 yards receiving, ten touches, a (touchdown). Eric Decker had the same, Matt Forte would go over 100. Nobody could touch us.
"...and of course, the Jets got in the way. They didn't want to give Ryan Fitzpatrick the bag. I'm like, he's the best quarterback that this franchise has had in 15 years, 20 years. Give the man $12 million! The top quarterbacks are more $24 million! What he just did for us, you're going to break this up? And that ruined everything. I thought we would be able to come back and contend, but we all imploded."
Since 2015, the Jets have not recorded a winning season. Todd Bowles was fired following the 2018 season, and Adam Gase's reign hasn't exactly led to a franchise turnaround.
Speaking of Todd Bowles, who now works as the defensive coordinator of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Marshall gave a very, very inconsequential hint regarding a possible reunion.
"People ask me that all the time," Marshall said, who now works as a co-host on Fox Sports One's "First Things First" and helps to run a lifestyle wellness business. "There (were) a few calls this year and it just wasn't right... for me to walk away from what I'm doing now, I can't go back and lose.
"So you never know. I'm done, but who knows, maybe Todd Bowles brings me in as tight end next year."
From one unretired player in Rob Gronkowski to another in Brandon Marshall? Now that would be a sight to see.
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