The Chicago Bears made one of the biggest moves of the offseason by acquiring wide receiver Brandon Marshall from the Miami Dolphins in exchange for several middling draft picks. Marshall gives the Bears the big, athletic target in the passing game the team has been searching for since acquiring Cutler three years ago.
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It's funny how having a legitimate No. 1 receiver can make everyone else look better by default. Earl Bennett now seems poised for a big year in the slot. Rookie Alshon Jeffery won't face sky high expectations now that he has Marshall drawing most of the attention from both opposing defenses and the Bears' own fanbase. Devin Hester? Finally, we can put to rest the foolhardy notion that he'll ever develop into a star receiver. Now Hester can just be Hester: run around and catch some deep balls, free of conjecture.
↵Cutler gushed about his new targets in the passing game on Tuesday at training camp:
↵↵↵"It’s like Easter," Cutler said, smiling. "We’re still in holidays. We’ve got a lot of guys. It’s fun; got a lot of weapons. Even the (undrafted rookie) free-agent receivers we’ve got, they’re getting better and better. They’re asking questions. I think Phil Emery and the scouting department, you could definitely tell the difference in the three years I was here (before) to (now). Even the guys that didn’t get drafted can play football."
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Not that SB Nation Chicago ever likes to get religious, but Easter in Catholicism signifies the rising of Jesus from the dead. Is it possible Cutler -- once and forever the Bears' living savior -- sees a similar 'rising' this year in his own career?