Brandon Marshall Talks Jets, Cutler and His Personality

I think it’s people who are going to accept me for who I am and see that it’s a personality, not a character issue.

Brandon Marshall Talks Jets, Cutler and His Personality
Pro-Bowl receiver expects Jets to make him their top receiving target in 2015

By STU WOO
March 13, 2015 5:09 p.m. ET

In his first conversation with reporters since being acquired by the Jets in a trade with the Chicago Bears, wide receiver Brandon Marshall on Friday addressed his past off-field issues and joined the rest of the team’s fan base in wondering who will be the starting quarterback when the season begins.

“This is a great organization with great people,” said Marshall, the five-time Pro-Bowler who has found himself in plenty of legal and disciplinary trouble during his nine-year career. “I think it’s people who are going to accept me for who I am and see that it’s a personality, not a character issue.”

Marshall conceded that fans’ perceptions of his first five years in the NFL, a drama-filled time with the Denver Broncos and then the Miami Dolphins, were pretty much accurate. “I was lost getting in and didn’t cope with things,” he said.

Marshall was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder in 2011, his final year with the Dolphins, and he said he changed his life in Miami. But after he was traded to the Bears in March of 2012, Marshall continued to clash with coaches and teammates, mostly notably during a postgame tirade following a Bears loss to Miami this past season in which he criticized quarterback Jay Cutler.

On Friday, Marshall didn’t exactly deny that he had a messy relationship in Cutler, but said the two remain very close. “I’ve always described this relationship this way, and it hasn’t changed: We’re brothers,” Marshall said. “We love each other and we also get into it…I love him. I love his family. I love his sons. I wish him the best.”

READ MORE